Advice provision method for user using household appliance while viewing terminal screen

ABSTRACT

A provision method provides plurality of pieces of advice pertaining to household appliances of a user on a tablet 103. A priority of each piece of advice is changed by determining whether an advice-specific standard for the user the reference that piece of advice is met by an auto-log or overall user information. The pieces of advice are displayed in accordance with determination results. The format of display according to determination results is a list of advice sorted by priority.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure pertains to usability support technology for ahousehold appliance.

BACKGROUND ART

Usability support technology for a household appliance is technologysupplying a user who has purchased and is using a product with a betterusage method. Usability support technology for a household appliance isprovided in various forms. A typical form involves providing adviceindicating a better usage method for the household appliance to the userwho is a registered as a member upon purchasing a product.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[Patent Literature 1]

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-315079

[Patent Literature 2]

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-228355

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

As it happens, there is a trend for the user manual modernmultifunctional, multi-purpose household appliances to increase involume, such that most of the content of the manual for any householdappliance does not reach the user. There is a risk that supplying alarge amount of advice for using a single household appliance mayconfuse the user and lead to the household appliance being misused.Displaying the content of the manual in the form of advice on asmartphone or similar terminal constantly carried by the user has beenconsidered. However, covering each piece of advice contained in a manualwith the above-described volume requires a large amount of time even toscroll through the display of items on a smartphone. This is not usefulto a user holding the smartphone in one hand and attempting to finishchores with the household appliance in a short period of time. Also, amonotonic advice provision method (e.g., providing a sequential list ofitems, providing frequently-viewed items, etc.) saps user motivation tooperate the household appliance when looking at the advice on theterminal screen.

The present disclosure aims to provide rich and varied advice to theuser while avoiding confusion for the user.

Solution to Problem

An advice provision method solving the above-described problem involvesa system that provides a plurality of pieces of advice pertaining to ahousehold appliance on a user terminal, displaying the pieces of advicethat are to be referenced by the user according to priority, andensuring that the display of the advice is modified according to higheror lower priority corresponding to each piece advice, based on householdappliance usage conditions and on user circumstances.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present disclosure, the priority of advice is changedaccording to user circumstances or household appliance usage conditions,and the advice is provided to the user in accordance with the priority.Thus, the user is presented with advice on using the household appliancein response to conditions experienced by the user. Information the userneeds is provided in the form of advice. Thus, the advice provision ofthe disclosure makes many daily chores performed using the householdappliance more efficient.

Also, the advice provision of the present disclosure is displayed inaccordance with priority. Thus, advice narrowed-down to the topic ofusing the household appliance is made providable to the user.Accordingly, the various functions of the household appliance aredemonstrated maximally.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A depicts a computer system for realizing an advice provisionmethod (i.e., an information provision system), FIG. 1B depicts asituation where a device manufacturer both manages a data management anda cloud server 111 and has a computer acting as a data administrationcenter 110, and FIG. 1C depicts a situation where the devicemanufacturer and another management company merge or split and continuedata management and cloud server 111 administration, with a computerbelonging to either one or both serving as the data administrationcenter 110.

FIG. 2A illustrates a server device 111, a wireless LAN base device 102,and a terminal 103, FIG. 2B illustrates the hardware configuration ofthe server device 111 and the terminal 103, and FIG. 2C illustrates thelayer configuration of the server device 111.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a device group.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the appearance of the terminal 103.

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen transition by the terminal 103.

FIG. 6A depicts an example of an abbreviated display format, FIG. 6Bdepicts an example of a full text display format for advice, FIG. 6Cdepicts an example of the full text display format with reasons for thepriority of the advice attached, and FIG. 6D depicts an instance of anadvice configuration file.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram indicating the functional configuration of theserver device 111.

FIG. 8 depicts a priority attacher 45 referencing various informationand attaching priority based on these references.

FIG. 9A lists an example of a formula for a priority calculation ruleapplied to advice objects, and FIG. 9B schematically illustratesprinciples of weighting according to newness of an auto-log and otherdevice log, and FIG. 9C schematically illustrates principles of priorityweighting according to type of information among the auto-log, the otherdevice log, and overall user information.

FIG. 10A illustrates priority attachment performed by calculating areference count by others, and FIG. 10B illustrates priority attachmentperformed by changing the priority according to whether or not the userhas performed referencing.

FIG. 11A depicts a basic display format, in which advice objects aredisplayed in a list, FIG. 11B depicts a cascade display, FIG. 11Cdepicts a color-emphasis display, FIG. 11D depicts a combination of listdisplay with audio readout, and FIG. 11E depicts revolving display of aplurality of advice objects in a predetermined period.

FIG. 12A depicts a display format combining full-text display of supportadvice with abbreviated display of recommended advice, FIG. 12B depictsa display format in which a highest-priority advice object is displayedwith reasons attached to explain the high priority, and FIG. 12C depictsa display format in which the priority of any advice objects that havebeen selected at least once by the user is lowered.

FIG. 13A depicts a situation where advice objects subject to display areunified using the category of the top-ranking advice object, FIG. 13Bdepicts device-specific advice objects being displayed, FIG. 13C depictsadvice object display in two respective regions, where a first regionand a second region have been provided within a new information region,and FIG. 13D depicts chronological distribution in the first region andthe second region.

FIG. 14A depicts advice objects split into support advice andrecommended advice for display, and FIG. 14B depicts support advice andrecommended advice displayed in a single display area by time-division.

FIG. 15 is a table of correspondence between a profile of a person whowould raise or lower advice priority and a reference source for priorityattachment.

FIG. 16A is a table of correspondence between a profile of a person whowould raise or lower advice priority and a reference source for priorityattachment, and FIG. 16B depicts a table of correspondence between aprofile of a person who would raise or lower advice priority and areference source for priority attachment.

FIG. 17A is a table of correspondence between a profile of a person whowould raise or lower advice priority and a reference source for priorityattachment, and FIG. 17B is a table of correspondence between a profileof a person who would raise or lower advice priority and a referencesource for priority attachment.

FIG. 18A illustrates a user profile (for user AAA), FIG. 18B indicatesfive pieces of advice to be provided to the user (namely advicerecommending the use of a night course, advice to automate washing anddrying, advice to use jet drying, advice making a notification aboutweather forecast and pollen information, and advice to clean thefilter), FIG. 18C indicates a calculated priority value for each pieceof advice, and FIG. 18D indicates results of sorting the advice inaccordance with changes in priority resulting from the calculation.

FIG. 19 is a main flowchart for the processing of the advice provisionmethod.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the processing for attaching priority to eachpiece of advice.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart indicating the processing for the advicerecommending the use of a night course.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart indicating the priority attachment processing forthe advice to automate washing and drying.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart indicating the priority attachment processing forthe advice to use jet drying.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart indicating the priority attachment processing forthe advice making a notification of weather forecast and polleninformation.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of the processing for attaching priority to theadvice to clean the filter.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of the processing for attaching priority to theadvice on detergent amount.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart indicating the processing for priority attachmentfor the advice on extensive drying time.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart indicating the details of priority attachment foradvice recommending a course.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart indicating the details of priority attachment foradvice recommending a detergent ranking.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart indicating details of advice recommending tankwashing.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart indicating the details of priority attachment foradvice on automated cooking menus.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of the processing for attaching priority toadvice on maintenance.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of processing for advice presenting a menu or acooking class.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart indicating details of advice recommendingoperations performed manually and with the microwave.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart indicating details of advice on a keep-warmfunction.

FIG. 36 depicts the network configuration of the information provisionsystem.

FIG. 37 depicts the internal configuration of the guest OS instancerunning on the cloud server 111 and the application loaded by the guestOS instance.

FIG. 38A depicts the household appliance 101 making a network connection(S501), transmitting log information to the cloud server 111, and thecloud server 111 performing processes 1 through 3 as a group, FIG. 38Bdepicts a sequence in which processes 1 through 3 are performed on theterminal 103 rather than the cloud server 111, and FIG. 38C depicts asequence in which process 2 and 3 are executed by the terminal 103rather than the cloud server 111.

FIG. 39 depicts service type 1 (a local data center).

FIG. 40 depicts service type 2 (Infrastructure as a Service, IaaS).

FIG. 41 depicts service type 3 (Platform as a Service, PaaS).

FIG. 42 depicts service type 4 (Software as a Service, SaaS).

FIG. 43 illustrates an example of a screen on the terminal 103 where aroom image serves as background image for the user when a plurality ofadvice objects are displayed.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(Preamble to Embodiments)

As a basis for the above-described advice provision method, theinventors considered the realization of a computer system that acquiresinformation from various appliances within the household, analyzes theacquired information, and provides feedback to the user.

In the aforementioned Patent Literature 1 and 2, a computer system isdescribed that analyzes information acquired from appliances within thehousehold and provides feedback to the user. Here, a server in thecomputer system of Patent Literature 1 updates a user informationdatabase according to usage status information received from thehousehold appliance. Then, as required, the server references a designinformation database and the user information database for consultinginformation indicating a usage method for the household appliance, andprovides feedback to the user by sending the results to the householdappliance. However, the computer system described in Patent Literature 1provides advice to all users according to the usage status information,and thus may simultaneously display many pieces of advice about usage.As such, when the user is simultaneously presented with many pieces ofadvice, the information required by the user may be buried.

In contrast, the computer system of Patent Literature 2 extracts ahistorical common operation pattern that satisfies a predeterminedcondition from operation history data, specifies the operator having thecommon operation pattern, and determines the service to be providedtherefrom. When not possible to provide all of the services at once,then the services to be provided are compared in terms of priority and ahighest-priority service is selected from among the plurality ofservices. However, in the computer system of Patent Literature 2, thepriority used as the basis for selection is based on a priority orderthat is defined in advance. Accordingly, the computer system of PatentLiterature 2 has a service priority order that is set in advance and isunable to adapt to changing conditions. Thus, this computer system isunable to realize flexible service provision adapted to householdappliance usage conditions and to user conditions.

As discussed above, attempting to solve the problem given in the section“Problems to be Solved by the Invention”, namely the risk that supplyinga large amount of advice for using a single household appliance mayconfuse the user and lead to the household appliance being misused,using the above-described computer system of Patent Literature 1 and 2results in problems of realization such that, when the computer systemdescribed in Patent Literature 1 and 2 has an overabundance of requiredinformation, some information becomes buried, and in that a flexibleprovision of services cannot be provided an accordance with householdappliance usage conditions and user circumstances.

Embodiments of the present disclosure that solve these problems aredescribed below, with Embodiment 1 being a basic embodiment andEmbodiments 2, 3, 4, and so on being derived Embodiments.

1. Basic Embodiment

The above described problem of realization involves a system thatprovides a plurality of pieces of advice pertaining to a householdappliance on a user terminal, displaying the pieces of advice that areto be referenced by the user according to priority, and ensuring thatthe display of the advice is modified according to higher or lowerpriority corresponding to each piece advice, based on householdappliance usage conditions and on user circumstances. The presentEmbodiment applies to a case where advice is provided for a householdappliance having barely any usage history. Here, reference informationin the system has a priority attached thereto such that a higherpriority applies to advice that is to be managed as relevant informationgiven the user circumstances. Advice regarding a household appliancethat has very little usage history is thus given a change to bedisplayed. This enables the usage directions for a household appliancethat receives little attention to become widely known.

Over time, when there is a change in household appliance usageconditions or in user circumstances, this change affects the displayformat for the advice, which enables advice provision to be made withflexibility. The user is able to view advice without bias towardfrequent pieces of advice, which enables the user to achieve deeperunderstanding of the household appliance.

The term advice, as used above, refers to data played back for the userwhile using the household appliance or prior to using the householdappliance, and includes useful information regarding the use of thehousehold appliance. Given that all useful information regarding the useof the household appliance is included, the advice includes not assemblyinstructions for the household appliance and data provided by the vendorof the household appliance (e.g., manuals, help files, tutorials,support information, and recommendations), but also weather information,traffic information, governmental information, news, and other externalinformation.

Here, the above-described information provision system denotes acomputer system and may be configured from one or more computers. Forexample, this term may be widely defined to include a cloud computersystem in which a cloud server starts a guest OS on a terminal andperforms information provision through an application started by theguest OS, a client-server system in which a server performs informationprovision in response to a request from a client, a computer system inwhich computers share a peer-to-peer connection, and a grid computersystem in which a computer operates as a grid to perform distributedprocessing. The term “terminal device” is widely defined to include alaptop computer operated using a pointing device such a mouse or keypad,a notebook computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a register device,and so on. Providing explanations of Embodiments for all of theselower-level concepts would be complex and non-desirable. As such,Embodiment 1 is described below in a case where the terminal device is asmartphone.

When displaying advice, the management of priority-added referenceinformation, indicating which pieces of information are to be referencedamong a plurality of pieces of information indicating householdappliance usage conditions and user circumstances, may be performed byany computer among the one or more computers making up the informationprovision system. That is, any of the above-describes server, cloudserver, terminal, and client may be used.

2. Substantiation of Household Appliance Conditions and UserCircumstances

The household appliance conditions and user circumstances are expandableinto substantiation. That is, “insert claim 2 upon confirmation” mayapply. The need to display advice for the first household appliance isdetermined indirectly through the second household appliance, whichenables useful information regarding the first household appliance to beprovided to the user even when there is little usage history of thefirst household appliance for making advice.

Also, searching for information to be referenced for priority attachmentin the first household appliance log information, the second householdappliance log information, and the user information enablesdetermination of high-priority advice. Thus, the advice provision methodis realizable as an extension of search technology presented by a searchengine, thus enabling high-speed, meticulous advice provision.

2-1. Associating Household Appliance Conditions and User Circumstances

The management performed regarding which pieces of information amonginformation indicating household appliance usage conditions and usercircumstances are to be referenced when priority is applied is expandedupon below. Here, the information to be referenced when priority isapplied as managed by the system is categorized according to the profileof the user who will reference the advice into information indicatinghousehold appliance usage conditions and information indicating usercircumstances.

The advice provided in the present Embodiment is thus restricted to suitthe user's current lifestyle, preferences, and ideas, which enables formore accuracy in advice provision. Providing the user with advice thathas been narrowed down regarding the use of the household applianceenables the various functions fulfilled by the household appliance to beutilized to the greatest possible extent, which in turn enables themanufacturer of the household appliance to improve brand value. Here,the profile of the user may be an image as categorized from variousviewpoints. Specific examples include general categorization such asworking adult, homemaker, student, and child, as well as occupation,social ranking, differences in experience, personal lifestyle andideological categories (e.g., an ecologically-conscious person, a personwith loose social ties, a person keenly aware of trends), and so on.

3. Relation Between Log Information and User Information

The relationships between log information from a first householdappliance, log information from a second household appliance, and userinformation is expanded upon below. More specifically, when theabove-described advice provision method is further modified to raise orlower the priority of each piece of advice according to at least two oflog information from the first household appliance, log information fromthe second household appliance, and user information, then the entriesin the log information from the first household appliance, the loginformation from the second household appliance, and the userinformation are compared in terms of newness and the priority of theadvice is weighted according to the results of this comparison. Takingthe newness of the log information and the user information intoconsideration enables the display conditions of advice to match thelatest information rather than information originally registered severalyears prior, which in turn enables provision of advice suitable torecent user circumstances. Here, newness may be expressed in terms ofdate or time or similar information. For example, the creation date orupdate date of the log information and user information may be used.

4. Approach 1 to Consideration of Log Information and User Information

The manner of thinking regarding the respective consideration of the loginformation from the first household appliance, the log information fromthe second household appliance, and the user information is expandedupon below. That is, when the above-described advice provision method isfurther modified to raise or lower the priority of each piece of adviceaccording to at least two of log information from the first householdappliance, log information from the second household appliance, and userinformation, then the entries in the log information from the firsthousehold appliance, the log information from the second householdappliance, and the user information are weighted in terms of advicepriority in accordance with whether or not the priority associated witheach entry has been raised or lowered. The amount of change in priorityvaries according to which of the log information from the firsthousehold appliance, the log information from the second householdappliance, and the user information describes the profile of theintended user while also examining the log information from the firsthousehold appliance, the log information from the second householdappliance, and the user information. Thus, the understanding of usercircumstances is advanced by one level.

4-1. Substantiation of Advice and User Information

The advice and user information are developed more substantially below.That is, the above-described user information is made up of registeredinformation for the user that is registered within the informationprovision system and external information for the user that is obtainedfrom an external network via the information provision system. Theabove-described advice is information that is obtainable from theexternal network via the information provision system, and may alsoinclude appliance-related external information that is to be used inrelation to household appliance operation. Each of various types ofadvice, such as manual information and appliance-related externalinformation, is evaluated along a single dimension, namely priority,which changes the display format for each type of advice. As such, themanual information advice is sometimes displayed in a higher-priorityadvice format, while at other times, appliance-related externalinformation is displayed in a higher-priority advice format. The advicethat is provided is updated at a high frequency when there is anopportunity to view the screen, which enables usage support for thehousehold appliance to be implemented. Also, the change in priority ismade using not only the registered information for the user managedwithin the system, but also takes external information for the user intoconsideration. As such, a priority change made to change the advice iscarried out with high precision.

Also, this includes four combinations, namely cases where the priorityof manual information is increased in accordance with registeredinformation, cases where the priority of manual information is increasedin accordance with external information for the user, cases where thepriority of appliance-related external information is increased inaccordance with registered information for the user, and cases where thepriority of appliance-related external information is increased inaccordance with external information for the user. As such, the user iscontinuously given an impression of freshness.

5. Approach 2 to Consideration of Log Information and User Information

Another manner of thinking regarding the respective consideration of thelog information from the first household appliance, the log informationfrom the second household appliance, and the user information isexpanded upon below. Here, the weighting of the priority for theabove-described advice is given in the descending order: userinformation>log information from the first household appliance>loginformation from the second household appliance. The user information isaccurate information registered personally by the user and thus, theuser information is centered for evaluation. The log information fromthe first household appliance and the log information from the secondhousehold appliance are treated as auxiliary. This enables adviceprovision according to the user's perspective.

6. Content Expansion for Reference by Others

The change in priority may also include processing made in response toreference by others. Additional processing pertaining to theabove-described advice display involves acquiring a count of referencesby other users regarding the advice for the household appliance andraising or lowering the priority in accordance with this count, suchthat the priority of advice for the household appliance referenced bythe other user is weighted accordingly. Advice implemented by others isranked relatively highly, which provides information for a userconcerned with the usage by other people. The usage of the householdappliance eliminates differences among users and enables progress inappropriate use of the household appliance.

When the change in priority is expressible in terms of advice ranking,then the change is universally applicable. An integer display such as 1,2, 3, ranks such as AAA, AA, A, A−, or a hardware resource such asmemory or a register may be used to store the order. Numbering with tagsor links may also apply. The manner in which the priority is changed mayinvolve an increase in priority or a decrease in priority made inaccordance with a determination regarding whether or not anadvice-specific standard is met. This may be done by adding orsubtracting a predetermined increment in accordance with determinationresults, or by deriving the priority from the determination results byusing some type of function or correlation.

7. Content Expansion for Reference by Owner

The change in priority may also include additional processing made inresponse to reference by the owner. That is, when the advice isdisplayed, reference conditions are acquired for the user of the adviceconcerning the household appliance, and a change in priority is madeaccording to the acquired reference conditions for the user such thatthe priority of a given piece of advice is decreased when the user hasalready referenced that advice. Decreasing the ranking of advice thathas already been referenced by the user enables advice that has not yetbeen viewed to be made more available.

8. Content Expansion for Silent Mode

The first household appliance and the advice corresponding thereto areexpanded upon below in relation to a laundry machine in silent mode.Here, the above-discussed first household appliance is a laundrymachine, and the above-discussed advice is a recommendation to selectsilent mode. The priority of the recommendation to select silent mode ischanged in accordance with any of a history of using the laundry machineat night, a history of using a mute mode for an audio-visual deviceserving as the second household appliance, a history of setting aportable phone serving as the second household appliance to silent mode,and a location indicated in the user information that corresponds to aquiet environment. The recommendation to use silent mode may be made toa user who is sensitive to sound, such that recommendations regardingthe usage of the laundry machine are made according to usercircumstances.

8.1 Content Expansion for Energy Savings

The advice corresponding to the laundry machine may be expanded toinclude content relating to energy savings. That is, the advice is arecommendation to automate washing and drying by the laundry machine.The profile of the user to whom the recommendation to automate washingand drying is made describes any of a history of using a house cleaningmode on the first household appliance, a power consumption for the firsthousehold appliance or the second household appliance that is remarkablylower than other users in similar conditions, a history of frequent useon high-pollen days, and a high volume of washing and drying. Suggestingthe use of the mode also satisfies recent demands for energy savings.

8.2 Content Expansion for Unused Functions

The advice corresponding to the laundry machine may be expanded toinclude content relating to unused functions. That is, theabove-described advice is a recommendation to use a jet drying functionon clothing below a predetermined weight. The jet drying function is amode in which drying is performed by having a heat pump blow air whilethe laundry tank rotates back and forth. The profile of the user to whomthe recommendation to use the jet drying function is made includes achange in the amount of laundry washed and dried per load indicated inthe log information for the first household appliance, and may alsoinclude the user's work address, a usage history of an iron serving asthe second household appliance, and a time slot during which laundry isdone daily when these exceed a predetermined value. This enables theprevention of functionality becoming buried as high-tech laundrymachines advance further. Suggesting the use of this function enables areduction in daily household labor.

8-3. Content Expansion for Maintenance

The advice corresponding to the laundry machine may be expanded toinclude content relating to maintenance. That is, the above-describedadvice is a recommendation to clean the filter in the laundry machine.The profile of the user to whom the recommendation to clean the filterin the laundry machine is made may include a count of filterobstructions that is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, ora cumulative laundry time that is equal to or greater than apredetermined duration. Continuing to use the laundry machine whilethere is a filter obstruction may be dangerous, and as such, earlywarning is desirable for the user.

8-4. Content Expansion for Detergent Amount

The advice corresponding to the laundry machine may be expanded toinclude content relating to an amount of detergent. That is, theabove-described advice concerns a desired improvement when too muchdetergent is used. The profile of the user to whom the recommendation toimprove the use of detergent is made includes any of a usage count of adefoamer that is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, anamount of used detergent that is equal to or greater than apredetermined value, and a change in registered brand of detergent.Reducing the amount of detergent used by the household contributes toprotection of the environment.

8-5. Content Expansion for Detergent Use

The advice corresponding to the laundry machine may be expanded toinclude content relating to a detergent used. That is, theabove-described advice is a recommendation to use a given detergent. Theprofile of the user to whom the advice regarding detergent use is madeincludes a registered brand of detergent. Beneficially providing adetergent that is appropriate for use with the household applianceenables appropriate detergent selection to be called for. Accordingly,laundry efficiency is increased.

8-6. Content Expansion for Laundry Tank Washing in Household Appliance

The advice corresponding to the laundry machine may be expanded toinclude content relating to maintenance of the laundry tank in thehousehold appliance. That is, the above-described advice is arecommendation for laundry tank washing. The profile of the user to whomthe recommendation to perform laundry tank washing is made includes anindication that the laundry tank has not been cleaned and a cumulativetime of laundry that exceeds a predetermined time. This enablesattention to be paid to dirt accumulation in the tank, which is oftenoverlooked among daily chores, and prevents premature damage and thelike.

9. Content Expansion for Maintenance of a Cooking Device

The advice corresponding to the laundry machine may be expanded toinclude content relating to maintenance of a cooking device. Here, theabove-described first household appliance is a cooking device. Theabove-described advice is a recommendation to perform maintenance on thecooking device. The priority corresponding to the recommendation toperform maintenance on the cooking device is changed in accordance withone of a history of use for baking and a history of using an airpurifier or vacuum cleaner. Accordingly, this enables the user to bemade aware of the need to clean accumulated grime from the cookingdevice.

9-1. Content Expansion for Cooking Device and Cooking Process

Here, the content regarding the advice corresponding to the cookingdevice is expanded to cover the cooking device and a cooking process.That is, the above-described advice is a recommendation for anautomatically-prepared menu. The profile of the user to whom therecommendation to use the automatically-prepared menu is made mayinclude a history of cooking time that exceeds a predeterminedthreshold. Accordingly, beneficial assistance is provided to a user whois struggling with some type of cooking.

9-2. Content Expansion for Usage of a Cooking Device

Here, the advice corresponding to the cooking device is expanded tocover a usage method for the cooking device. That is, theabove-described advice is a process or instructions to which use of thecooking device is applicable. The profile of the user to whom therecommendation to use the process or instructions to which use of thecooking device is applicable is made may include a history of recordingfoodie-oriented programs on a recording device serving as the secondhousehold appliance, and a history of recording children's programming.This enables a homemaker struggling with daily tasks to be provided withcooking methods using a microwave, and is particularly effective forhomemakers with a large workload involving childcare.

10. Substantiation of Circumstances According to Priority

Circumstances according to priority are not limited to cases visible tohumans, but may also include some sort of information relating to theother senses such as hearing and smell. When information relating tohuman vision is used, then the substantiation of circumstances accordingto priority is further expandable. That is, the user terminal displays aplurality of pieces of advice in a list. Display is made according topriority by displaying each piece of advice in the list as rankedaccording to priority. On the screen, this is displayed as listing thepieces of advice from the top down, which enables effectivedetermination of what to do when using the household appliance.

11. Content Expansion for Cascade Display

The above-described circumstances according to priority aresubstantially expanded upon below. That is, the user terminal displays aplurality of pieces of advice in superposition. The display according topriority is made with the cascade display by displaying a piece ofadvice having the highest priority as the front-most. Using the cascadedisplay enables the entire text of a piece of advice having highpriority to be seen by the user.

12. Content Expansion for Change in Display Over Time

The above-described circumstances according to priority may alsointroduce changes over time. That is, the user terminal performsperiodic display of a plurality of pieces of advice. Periodic displayaccording to priority involves performing periodic display of advice byselecting a piece of advice having high priority for display on the userterminal, among a plurality of pieces of advice pertaining to thehousehold appliance of the user. After a fixed interval, a piece ofadvice is re-selected for display on the user terminal from among thepieces of advice having high priority among the plurality of pieces ofadvice. As such, the selected advice is displayed on the user terminal.The advice automatically changes, even when the user makes nooperations. As such, this enables more thorough knowledge to be reliablyimparted to the user. This also enables the user to be shown moreinformation content when the terminal screen area is constrained.

13. Content Expansion for Change in Color Over Time

The above-described circumstances according to priority aresubstantially expanded upon below. That is, the display according topriority involves making a display color of a piece of advice havinghigh priority among a plurality of pieces of advice pertaining to thehousehold appliance of the user different from a display color of otherpieces of advice. This makes the piece of advice having high prioritymore conspicuous, and enables the user to pay more attention thereto.

14. Content Expansion for Voice Introduction

The above-described circumstances according to priority may also includeelements appealing to human hearing.

That is, a piece of advice judged as having high priority among aplurality of pieces of advice pertaining to the household appliance ofthe user may be used in an audio notification made to the user. Thisenables the user's attention to be drawn to the terminal through the useof audio, which enables the content of the piece of advice to becorrectly imparted to the user.

15. Attachment of Reasons

The above-described circumstances according to priority aresubstantially expanded upon below. That is, the display on the userterminal may be accompanied by the conditions making for the highpriority of the piece of advice judged as having high priority among theplurality of pieces of advice pertaining to the household appliance ofthe user. This enables indirect improvement of user actions bypresenting the user with reasons why the pieces of advice is beingprovided.

16. Reference of New and Old Advice

The above-described circumstances according to priority aresubstantially expanded upon below. That is, log information for thehousehold appliance of the user is acquired, a piece of advice that hasbeen used by the user among the plurality of pieces of advice pertainingto the household appliance of the user is determined based on theacquired log information for the household appliance of the user, anddisplay of the piece of advice determined as having been used by theuser is deleted. This enables old advice to be deleted and new advice tobe more widely provided the user.

17. Compatibility with a Plurality of Household Appliances

The above-described circumstances according to priority may be expandedin accordance with the household appliance subject to advice. That is,the household appliances of the user are classified into a plurality ofcategories, and advice pertaining to household appliances of the userthat are classified into the same category are displayed simultaneouslyon the user terminal. This enables advice pertaining to a plurality ofrelated household appliances to be seen collectively by the user, whichin turn enables the user to more quickly decide on a course of action totake when performing simultaneous settings or operations on a pluralityof household appliances.

18. Restrictions in Accordance with Household Appliance Type

The above-described circumstances according to priority may berestricted in accordance with household appliance type. That is, an iconindicating the household appliance of the user is displayed on the userterminal, and this icon is selectable by the user. Advice pertaining tothe household appliance of the user indicated by the icon selected bythe user is then displayed on the user terminal. Restricting thedisplayed advice to the household appliance selected by the usersimplifies organization of the advice. A user prioritizing viewing ofadvice for a frequently-used or recently-purchased household appliancemay thus be provided with more useful advice.

19. Restrictions in Accordance with Advice Display Interval

The advice display interval may be realized in accordance with thefollowing aspects. That is, the advice provision method is for a systemproviding a plurality of pieces of advice pertaining to a householdappliance on the user terminal. A display region on the user terminalincludes a first region and a second region. The display interval mayvary between a piece of advice pertaining to the household appliance ofthe user displayed in the first region and a piece of advice pertainingto the household appliance of the user displayed in the second region.

Providing respective regions having a long update interval and a shortupdate interval enables a selection of a piece of advice having highpriority for longer viewing by the user through disposition in the firstregion. Conversely, a piece of advice having low priority is updatedmore frequently, enabling the user to be shown various pieces of advicewithin a limited time.

20. Other Aspects of Advice Provision

The advice provision method for the system providing a plurality ofpieces of advice pertaining to a household appliance on the userterminal may also include the following aspects. That is, the advicepertaining to the household appliance of the user may be categorizedinto support advice intended for common operation of the householdappliance of the user, and recommended advice intended for furtherimproving user-friendliness within the range of common operation of thehousehold appliance of the user. The support advice and the recommendedadvice are displayed on the user terminal in different formats. Thedisplay format differs for different advice types, which enables theuser's attention to be drawn toward support advice having high urgency.

21. Restrictions in Accordance with Advice Type

The display format for the advice may be subject to improvements inaccordance with advice type. That is, the display interval for thesupport advice may be longer than the display interval for therecommended advice. The display interval is different for support andrecommended advice, which enables easier determination of what to dofirst when deciding on a course of action. Making the interval allocatedto the support advice longer enables the user to be given plenty of timeto understand the support provided.

22. Content Expansion Regarding Display Timing of Advice

Additional improvements may be applied regarding the display timing ofthe advice. That is, the display timing on the user terminal may differbetween the support advice and the recommended advice. Changing thedisplay timing enables information selection such that the advice isfully seen by the user and may be allowed to pass.

23. Content Expansion 1 Regarding Terminal Screen Region Distribution

Additional improvements may be applied to the terminal screen regiondistribution. That is, the support advice is displayed in full on theuser terminal, while the recommended advice is abbreviated for displayon the user terminal. This enables efficient distribution of the screenregion and faster understanding for the user.

24. Content Expansion 2 Regarding Terminal Screen Region Distribution

Additional improvements may be applied to the terminal screen regiondistribution. That is, the abbreviated recommended advice may be anindication that advice is available. This enables the user to be madeaware that multiple pieces of advice are available within a limitedscreen area.

The below-described Embodiments each represent a specific example of thedisclosure. Elements of the below Embodiments such as numerical values,shapes, components, steps, and order of processing are intended only asexamples, and not as limitations on the main thrust of the disclosure.Also, among the components of the below-described Embodiments, anycomponent not described as top-level concepts are described as optionalcomponents. Also, various content combinations among all of theEmbodiments are also applicable.

Embodiment 1

An embodiment of the advice provision method on a computer system isdescribed below, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Overall View of Provision Service)

FIG. 1A depicts a computer system for realizing an advice provisionmethod (i.e., an information provision system). The computer systemrealizes a remote support service for a household appliance. Here, theremote support service is a service that performs monitoring via anetwork of whether or not a household appliance is operating normally,and that performs troubleshooting or software updates as needed. Varioustypes of information provision are performed as part of the remotesupport service. The information provision system is configured from adevice group 100 (which includes a plurality of household appliances 101and a home gateway 102), a terminal 103, a data administration center110 (which includes a cloud server 111), and a service provision center120 (which includes a server 121).

The device group 100 is a collection of devices installed by a business,group, or family, for example. The household appliances 101, whichinclude devices A and B, and the home gateway 102 are found in thedevice group 100. The household appliances 101 are a group of householdappliances subject to remote support from the information provisionsystem. Here, remote support refers to the cloud server 111 managing thestate of the household appliances, which are registered in advance forremote support. The household appliances subject to remote support mayinclude internet-connectable devices (e.g., a television, a videorecording device, and so on) as well as devices that are not able toconnect to the internet directly (e.g., a light fixture, a laundrymachine, a refrigerator, and so on). The latter devices are unable toconnect to the internet directly, but include devices that are able toconnect to the internet through the home gateway 102. The user usingthese household appliances 101 is termed User AAA.

The terminal 103 is a portable terminal that is able to communicate withthe cloud server 111, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. Whenoutside the information provision system, the user referencing theinformation (indicated as User ZZZ in FIG. 1) receives informationprovided through this terminal 103.

The data administration center 110 is configured from a company intranetinstalled by a data center operator, and performs data management, datacenter administration, and so on in order to realize the remote supportservice. Here, data management refers to receiving a user registrationfrom the user upon purchase of any household appliance, and managing theuser having performed the user registration as a member of the remotesupport service. The user registration includes registration of thehousehold appliance that is subject to remote support and memberregistration of the user as a member of the remote support service. Thedata administration center 110 manages information on any registeredhousehold appliance and registered information on the user input uponmember registration. The data administration center 110 managesregistered information on the user, such as an ID, name, home address,work address, and so on, from the member registration.

Also, at user registration, URL input is performed for any social mediasite, blog, or website pertaining to the user. This input is received inorder to acquire information pertaining to the user from externalnetworks. In addition, the data administration center 110 specifies ahousehold appliance as being subject to remote support service by usinga product code of that household appliance, which is within theregistered household appliance information. The data administrationcenter 110 is not limited to a company performing only data managementand cloud server 111 administration. For example, a device manufacturerdeveloping and manufacturing one of the devices among the householdappliances 101 may have a computer serving as the data administrationcenter 110 when the device manufacturer also performs data managementand cloud server 111 administration (see FIG. 1B). Furthermore, the dataadministration center 110 is not limited to a single company. Forexample, when a device manufacturer and another management company mergeor split and continue data management and cloud server 111administration, then a computer belonging to either one or both mayserve as the data administration center 110 (see FIG. 1C). The othermanagement company may be a security company or electric power company.The cloud server 111 is within the data administration center 110, beinga virtual server accessing the company intranet installed by the datacenter operator and the outside Internet without division, and managesbig data through connection with various devices via the Internet.

The service provision center 120 is configured from a computer of aservice provider. The computer configured as the service provisioncenter 120 includes the server 121. The server 121 is indicated by adashed line because, in some cases, the service provision center 120 maynot have the server 121. For example, the server 121 is unnecessary whenthe cloud server 111 performs all of the data management.

The flow of information in the above-described service is describednext. First, log information is generated with every use of device A ordevice B in the device group 100 by the user, and this log informationis transmitted to the cloud server 111 of the data administration center110. The cloud server 111 collects the log information for device A ordevice B in cloud server storage (see arrow a1). Here, the loginformation is information indicating, for example, operating conditionsand operation dates for the household appliances 101. For instance, thismay include a television viewing history, recording schedule informationfor a recorder, date and time of operation as well as laundry volume fora laundry machine, a date, time, and frequency of opening and closingfor a refrigerator, and so on. The log information may also be provideddirectly to the cloud server 111 by the household appliances 101 via theInternet. Also, as indicated by arrow d1, the log information may becollected by the home gateway 102 and provided to the cloud server 111by the home gateway 102.

Next, the cloud server 111 of the data administration center 110provides the collected log information to the service provision center120 in constant units. The unit of provision may be a unit ofinformation collected and organized by the data center operator andprovidable to the service provision center 120, or may be a unit ofinformation required by the service provision center 120. Althoughconstant units are indicated, the amount of information provided mayalso fluctuate and need not always be constant.

The log information is stored by the server 121 within the serviceprovision center 120 as needed, through the storage of the cloud server111. The service provision center 120 then organizes the log informationinto information suitable for the service provided to the user, andprovides the result to the user. The user who receives this organizedinformation may be both user AAA using the household appliances 101 ormay be an external user ZZZ. The service provision method for the userinvolves a provision path is indicated by arrows f1 and e1. That is,there is a provision path for provision to the user through the serviceprovider. Cases where user AAA and ZZZ are separate people and wherethey are the same person are both possible. Embodiment 1, below,describes a case in which user AAA and user ZZZ are the same person, andwhich the device group 100 is present.

Also, the service provision method for the user may use the provisionpath shown by arrows c1 and d1. That is, provision to the user may bemade by re-passing through the cloud server 111 of the dataadministration center 110. The cloud server 111 of the dataadministration center 110 is able to organize the log information to besuitable for the service provided to the user. The service provisioncenter 120 is provided with information obtained by organizing. Thefollowing explanation applies to a server (i.e., the server device 111)having the functions of the cloud server 111 and the service provisioncenter 120 and performing information provision in the above-describedinformation provision system.

The big data management by the cloud server 111 is described next. Thebig data considered in this document is only accessible through theintranet of the data administration center, and includes internalinformation managed within the system and external informationobtainable from an exterior network via the system. The internalinformation and the external information relating to the user aredescribed next. The internal information relating to the user is theregistered information for the user, input by the user during memberregistration for the remote support service. The external informationrelating to the user is information obtainable from an exterior networkthrough the system (e.g., social media information, blog information,website information, and so on).

The internal information and the external information relating to thehousehold appliances are described next. The internal informationrelating to the household appliances is the log information transmittedfrom the device group, and online manual information created by amanufacturer and relating to one of the household appliances (e.g.,recommendation information for unused functions, tips and tricks,maintenance information, and so on). The external information relatingto the household appliances is appliance-related external information,being information obtainable from an external network via the system,such as the information to be displayed on the terminal 103 inconnection with usage of the household appliances (e.g., weatherinformation, pollen information, detergent rankings, menus, cookinglesson referrals, and so on).

The information provision by the system is performed when the user, whois a member, logs in, and involves selecting an appropriate piece ofadvice within an online manual for the household appliance and among theappliance-related external information for the household appliance, anddisplaying the selected advice on the terminal 103. The piece of adviceamong the online manual information for the household appliance and theappliance-related external information for the household appliancedisplayed on the terminal 103 as advice for one logged-in user is termedan advice object.

(Information Provision System Hardware Resources)

The hardware resources of the above-described information provisionsystem are depicted in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2A depicts a wireless LAN basedevice 102, which is the home gateway installed in the user's home, theterminal 103, and the server device 111. FIG. 2B illustrates thehardware configuration of the server device 111 and the terminal 103.The hardware configuration of the server device 111, depicted on theleft-hand side of FIG. 2B, includes a microprocessor unit (hereinafter,MPU) 4, random access memory (hereinafter, RAM) 5, read-only memory(hereinafter, ROM) 6, a graphics processor unit (hereinafter, GPU) 7, aninterface circuit 8, a storage drive 9, and communications hardware 10.

The hardware configuration of the terminal 103, depicted on theright-hand side of FIG. 2A, includes an MPU 11, RAM 12, ROM 13, a GPU14, communications hardware 15, a display panel 16, a touch sensorcircuit 17, an acceleration sensor circuit 18, a magnetic sensor circuit19, an interface circuit 20, and a storage drive 21.

The touch sensor circuit 17 optically or electrically detects anoperation of touching the screen of the terminal 103 (i.e., a touchoperation) and an operation of gliding along the screen of the terminal103 (i.e., a flick operation). Surface static capacitive detection is anexample of such a detection. Using surface static capacitive detectioninvolves a configuration in which a transparent electrode film (i.e., aconductive layer) is applied over the surface of a glass substrate andhas a protective cover layered thereon. Electrodes at the four cornersof the glass substrate apply voltage to produce a uniform, low-voltageelectric field across the entirety of the panel. When a finger touchesthe surface, the change in static capacitance is measured at the fourcorners to specify the coordinates of the finger. Accordingly, thecoordinates of a touch operation or a flick operation are detectable.

FIG. 2C illustrates the layer configuration of the server device 111.The layer configuration of the server device 111 is made up of threelayers, namely an application layer 201, an operating system(hereinafter, OS) layer 202, and a hardware layer. The OS layer 202 is aplatform made up of middle-ware and a file system, and is equipped witha virtual machine. The virtual machine converts an application createdin an object-oriented language into native code and causes the MPU toexecute the native code. The application running on this OS may includeexecutable code for causing the MPU of the server device 111 to executethe advice provision method.

The hardware resources of the server device 111 and the hardwareresources of the terminal 103 in the system are respectively centered onthe core hardware resources of the MPU, ROM, and RAM. However, in thesoftware layer, the configuration of the server includes an application201 and an OS 202 running on the hardware, while the terminal 103includes a browser 203 for screen execution of the application withoutthe OS, being run directly by the hardware resources.

The user of the system perceives the presence and content of the adviceas an advice object being displayed on the browser screen, playback ofthe text in an advice object by reading aloud, play back of a videotutorial in an advice object, and so on. The terminal 103 and the serverdevice 111 may each perform the construction of the browser screen,using menus and icons for display of the advice object. This concludesthe explanation of the system.

(Household Appliances Subject to Advice Provision)

The advice provision by the system is performed for the user of aplurality of household appliances (also termed the device group)installed in a typical home. Appropriate usage of the householdappliances is suggested to the user through display of a browser screenthat includes a plurality of advice objects on the terminal 103. Thehousehold appliances of the present document are devices equipped withspecialized functions for the daily life of a typical individual, andare used in connection with food, clothing, shelter, and other needs ofthe user. Washing clothing and preparing food are part of thesefunctions for the daily life of a typical individual. Thus, thehousehold appliances include a laundry machine and a cooking device.Watching television is also part of the functions for the daily life ofa typical individual. Thus, the household appliances include atelevision and a video recording device. These household appliances maycommunicate with the server device 111 not only through wired access,but also through wireless access or touch access.

Wireless access is performed through the home gateway and a wirelessadapter, and involves the server device 111 being constantly connectedto the household appliances. Touch access is performed using theterminal 103 rather than the home gateway and the wireless adapter orequivalents, and involves accumulated communication performed through awireless tab each time the terminal 103 and the household appliancestouch. The accumulated communication involves the household appliancesconstantly accumulating log information indicating the usage of thehousehold appliances and, upon touching the terminal 103, handing overthe accumulated log information to the terminal 103 as bundle fortransmission to the server device 111 through the terminal 103.

The log information is described next. The log information of thepresent Embodiment mainly indicates usage conditions for the householdappliances. The log information indicates the usage conditions of eachhousehold appliance, and includes a usage start time paired with acontinuous duration or a usage end time, in association with usagecontents and any troubleshooting code or error code. The usage contentsindicate mode settings, course selection, parameter settings, and so onfor using the household appliance, and may vary among householdappliances. The log information may be in various formats. However, inthe present Embodiment, the log information is an information unitindicating one usage condition. In order to transfer the log informationover a network to record onto a recording medium, the generation of thelog information involves storing one or more pieces of the loginformation in a file (i.e., a log information file). The storage formatof the log information file may involve storing one piece of loginformation per log information file, or may involve storing a pluralityof pieces of log information into a single file. In the former storageformat, the creation date of the log information file is usable forchecking the date and time at which the most recent use of the householdappliance ended. In the latter storage format, the update date of thelog information file is usable for checking the date and time at whichthe most recent use of the household appliance ended.

When each piece of log information is stored in an individual loginformation file, the controller of the corresponding householdappliance generates the log information as follows. When usage start bythe user is detected, a template defining the format of the loginformation file is constructed in memory, and the log information fileis written to include the start time, a mode setting by the user, acourse selection, and a parameter setting. During operation of thehousehold appliance, the controller waits for the end of the operationof the household appliance. Once the operation ends, the log informationfile is closed to obtain one log information. Afterward, the loginformation file so generated is transmitted to the server device 111through one of wired access, wireless access, and touch access.

FIG. 3 depicts an example of a plurality of household appliances makingup the device group. In FIG. 3, user AAA, who is a member of theinformation provision service, is holding a smartphone in one hand andappears to be performing daily chores such as laundry and cooking. Asshown, the device group includes a laundry machine 31, a cooking device32, a refrigerator 33, a jar rice cooker 34, an air conditioner 35, andan air purifier 36, performing communication using any of theabove-described wired access, wireless access, and touch access. Theinformation provision system provides support to the user of thesehousehold appliances in the form of an advice object presented throughthe terminal 103. Although not diagrammed, the household appliancessubject to remote support by the server device 111 also include a vacuumcleaner, a television, a video recording device, and a portable phone.Each of the household appliances in the device group is subject to theadvice provision method. The role of the advice provision method is todisplay the advice objects on the terminal 103 held by the user in aplace where a plurality of household appliances are located in order torecommend appropriate use of the household appliances. However,explanations are difficult to provide for all of the householdappliances. Thus, the explanations are narrowed down to the laundrymachine 31 and the cooking device 32 while explanations for the otherhousehold appliances are omitted or simplified.

(Laundry Machine 31)

The laundry machine is a drum-type washer-dryer device performing awashing process, a rinsing process, a draining process, and a dryingprocess by having a controller automatically control a water supplysystem, a waste water system, a drying system, and so on in accordancewith a mode setting and a control program. A water tank inside the mainbody of the laundry machine is provided with a rotating drum that isfreely rotatable. The rotating drum is driven to rotate by a motoraffixed to the outside of a back surface of the water tank. The rotatingdrum is directly connected to a motor fixed to the outside of a bottomsurface of the water tank. Washing is performed by agitating clothingplaced in the rotating drum by opening and closing the door.

The drying system circulates air in the water tank and the rotating drumusing a blowing fan motor. The drying system includes a heat pump systemthat is configured from a filter collecting and trapping lint, adehumidifier dehumidifying the air introduced after filtering, a heaterheating the filtered air into dry, hot air, and so on. Selection of amode, such as a course of operation, and selections of various functionsare made through an operation panel and a display panel on the mainbody. Once operation start is set through input settings on theoperation panel, the operations of the motor, waste water valve, watersupply valve, and so on are controlled in accordance with a water leveldetected in the water tank to perform the washing, rinsing, draining,and drying processes.

(Cooking Device 32)

The cooking device 32 is a dielectric cooking device using dielectricheating to heat a heating target by supplying microwaves to a heatingchamber in which the heating target is contained. A microwave ovenincludes main components such as a magnetron serving as a high-frequencygenerator generating high-frequency waves, a circulation fan agitatingand circulating air in the heating chamber, a convection heater servingas an internal heater heating the air that is circulated in the heatingchamber, a temperature sensor detecting the temperature in the heatingchamber, a controller, and an input unit. The input unit is equippedwith a start switch making an instruction to start heating, a liquidcrystal display indicating control content, heating temperature, heatingduration, and so on, a switch for switching between high-frequency waveheating and another type of heating, an automatic cooking switch forstarting a heating program prepared in advance, and various otherswitches. The controller performs processing through input to theseswitches.

This concludes the explanations of the household appliances. An overviewof the terminal 103 is provided in conclusion to the explanation of thehousehold appliances.

(Terminal 103 Configuration)

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the appearance of the terminal 103. Asshown, the surface of the terminal 103 includes a touch panel 37. Thebrowser screen is displayed on the touch panel. Graphical user interface(hereinafter, GUI) elements making up the browser screen include textboxes, buttons, links, maximize and minimize boxes, list boxes, scrollbars, check boxes, list menus, windows, and icons.

The content of the screen displayed on the touch panel in FIG. 4 isdescribed next. The content of the screen is the browser screen,displayed on the terminal 103 by the browser. The browser screenincludes a recommendation screen area1 that includes a list menu of nadvice objects each having priority, and an icon list area2 in which arearranged icons of devices registered as subject to the remote supportservice.

When the display area for any of the advice objects that are displayedis touched, that advice object is displayed in full. Also, a flick madeon the screen causes scrolling of the n advice objects. This scrollingis performed by deleting a topmost of the n advice objects present inthe area, raising the respective positions of the second and subsequentadvice objects, and arranging an n+1th advice object as the bottommostin the area. Scrolling through the advice objects in response to a flickoperation enables lower advice objects to also be provided for display.

The terminal 103 does not perform the construction of the browser screenusing menus and icons for display of the advice object. Rather, theserver device 111 does so. Thus, the application processing to beperformed by the terminal 103 is limited to transmission processing oftransmitting an event such as a touch, flick, drag, or key touch on asoftware keyboard to the server device 111 when there is a useroperation on the touch panel, and reception processing of receiving anddisplaying screen data for the browser screen, which has been createdand transmitted by the server device 111.

The browser screen of FIG. 4 transitions into the screens of FIG. 5through the transmission processing and the reception processing inconnection with the server device 111.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of screen transitions by the terminal 103.These screen transitions take a log-in screen scn1 on the left-hand sideas an initial state. Once user authentication is performed in theinitial state, the screen transitions into screen scn2, which includesthe recommendation screen area2, and the icon list area2 for thedevices. In FIG. 5, arrow aw1 indicates the transition. On this screen,a touch on a switching button produces a screen transition as indicatedby arrow aw2. As a result, the full-text screen scn3 for the adviceobject appears. Conversely, when there is a touch any of the deviceicons, a screen transition to occurs as indicated by arrow aw3. Thisleads a device-specific screen scn4. This concludes the explanation ofthe terminal 103. Next, the advice object is explained in detail.

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate an example of the data configuration for variousadvice object display formats. The advice object has one of the displayformats depicted in FIGS. 6A-6C and has the data configuration depictedin FIG. 6D. FIG. 6A illustrates an example of abbreviated display. Inthis format, a bitmap symbolizing the target device is arranged at theleft-hand edge and abbreviated display text for the advice is arrangedin the middle. The abbreviated display text is a simplified version ofthe advice. Specifically, the abbreviated display text represents thecontent of the advice in simplified form, such that what to do with thehousehold appliance is clear at a glance. A switching button is arrangedat the right-hand edge.

FIG. 6B depicts an example of full text display for the advice. In FIG.6B, the bitmap symbolizing the target device is arranged at the upperleft and the full text of the advice is displayed in the entireremainder of the screen area. FIG. 6C depicts an example of the fulltext display format with reasons for the priority of the adviceattached. A reason for the priority may be, for example, that advicerecommending the use of a night course is given priority because the loginformation indicates a usage interval of 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM, orsimilar reasoning. This enables deeper understanding of the targethousehold appliance.

The data configuration used to display advice in the above-describedformats to each user is described next. An advice object in any of thedisplay formats of FIGS. 6A-6C is an instance of an advice configurationfile having the data configuration of FIG. 6D, and is generated for eachlogged-in user. The data configuration of the advice configuration fileis described below. The advice configuration file is configured from anadvice ID identifying the advice configuration file, a target productcode that is the product code of the target household appliance,abbreviated display text that is a text string for abbreviated display,main data that is text data for full text display or online manualinformation and appliance-related external information for display asthe advice, a reference count by others, a reference count by the user,a category indicating whether the advice configuration file iscategorized as support or recommend, a method that is a programmingportion of the advice configuration file and that indicates a controlmethod for raising or lower the priority and a command or script forperforming an actual operation of the household appliance, and apriority that is calculated at each log-in.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration ofthe server device 111. As shown, the server device 111 is configuredfrom product data storage 41, remote support storage 42, user managementstorage 43, an advice object manager 44, a priority attacher 45, ascreen creator 46, and a terminal interface 47. The product data storage41 stores product information corresponding to each household productmanufactured by a manufacturer in association with online manualinformation for the corresponding product. FIG. 7 depicts a plurality ofadvice configuration files, each defining a data configuration foronline manual information.

The remote support storage 42 collects log information files for thehousehold appliances subject to online support. The remote supportstorage has a directory corresponding to the users (i.e., a userdirectory). A household-appliance specific directory for each applianceowned by the user (i.e., a user/appliance directory) is arranged as asub-directory of the user directory in the remote support storage. Thelog information files generated as the user uses the householdappliances are accumulated in the user/appliance directory for thathousehold appliance within the local storage of the server device 111.

The user management storage 43 includes a plurality of user domain areas(given in FIG. 7 as a user AAA area and a user BBB area), and storesdata for each of a plurality of users who are members. When a user whois a member logs into the system, the advice object manager 44 searchesthe product information stored in the product information storage usingall product codes registered in the registered information for that userand loads an advice configuration file corresponding to any hits in theproduct information from the product data storage 41. Then, the adviceobject manager 44 generates an instance of the advice configuration filefor the logged-in user (also termed a user advice object) in the userdomain area for that user within the user management storage 43. Theadvice object manager 44 generates a plurality of user advice objects byperforming the same processing for all logged-in users each time thatuser logs in. In FIG. 7, arrow Src schematically indicates the searchingof the advice configuration file performed by the advice object manager44 using the product code. Arrows gn1, gn2, and gn3 indicate instancegeneration based on the advice configuration files found in the search.

The priority attacher 45 calculates a priority for each user adviceobject generated by the advice object manager 44 and writes thecalculated priority into the priority field of that user advice object.In attaching the priority, the priority attacher 45 references not onlythe log information for the household appliance that is the subject ofthe advice object (i.e., an auto-log) but also log information fromhousehold appliances other than the household appliance that is thesubject of the advice object (i.e., other device logs).

In attaching the priority, the priority attacher 45 also referencesoverall user information. The overall user information is overallinformation on the user that is obtainable through the system, andincludes internal information from the system and external informationto the system regarding the logged-in user. In FIG. 7, arrows rf11,rf12, and rf13 schematically indicate the priority attacher 45referencing the auto-log, other device logs, and the overall userinformation. Arrows st1, st2, and st3 symbolically represent a prioritysetting set by the priority attacher 45 for each user advice object. Thedetails of priority calculation are described later. The priorityattachment by the priority attacher 45 is not only performed when theuser is logged in, but may also involve transmission of a new auto-logand other device logs when the user advice object has been referenced bythe logged-in user or by another user. Changes in priority may occur asa result of such referencing, or due to the new auto-logs and otherdevice logs. As such, the priority attachment is used in multipleaspects by making use of the auto-log, the other device logs, and theoverall user information.

The screen creator 46 creates a browser screen using abbreviated displaytext or full text display text data for a user advice object havinghighest priority. When an event indicating an operation made by thelogged-in user is transmitted from the terminal 103 to the server device111, the screen creator 46 performs an update of the browser screen andtransmits the updated browser screen to the terminal 103. In FIG. 7,arrows gt1 and gt2 schematically indicate the acquisition of the useradvice objects by the screen creator 46. Arrows gn4 and gn5schematically represent the generation of the browser screen for eachuser by the screen creator 46. The events transmitted from the terminal103 include events indicating a reference to the user advice object.Further, the events indicating the reference to the user advice objectinclude events indicating reference by the logged-in user (i.e., areference by the user), and a reference by a user other than thelogged-in user (i.e., a reference by others).

When the transmitted event indicates that the user advice object hasbeen referenced by the logged-in user, then an auto-reference countfield of the user advice object for the logged-in user is incremented.Conversely, when a transmitted event from the terminal 103 of anotherlogged-in user indicates that the user advice object has been referencedby a user other than the logged-in user, then an reference count byothers field of the user advice object for the logged-in user isincremented These incremented reference counts are reflected in thepriority calculation by the priority attacher 45.

The terminal interface 47 performs communication with the logged-inuser. These communications include transmitting the browser screen tothe terminal 103 held by each logged-in user, and receiving eventsindicating any operation performed on the browser screens. The serverdevice 111 has a hardware-OS-application hierarchy. The respectivehardware resources of the terminal 103 and the server device 103 use thebasic configuration of the MPU, ROM, and RAM. Thus, as described above,applications from the advice object manager 44 through the terminalinterface 47 are executed by either one of the terminal 103 MPU and theserver device 111 MPU. This concludes the explanations of theapplication for realizing the advice provision method. The priorityattacher 45 and the screen creator 46 are particularly important to therealization of the advice provision method. The processing by thepriority attacher 45 and the processing by the screen creator 46 areexplained in detail below.

FIG. 8 indicates the priority attacher 45 referencing variousinformation and attaching the priority based on these references. InFIG. 8, a plurality of advice objects listed on the right-hand side ofthe priority attacher 45 includes five advice objects found as hits inthe search using the product code. Here, arrows ass1-ass5 schematicallyindicate the allocation of priority to each advice object. As indicatedby the arrows, five advice objects, namely advice to use a night course,advice to automate washing and drying, advice to use jet drying,informative advice on weather forecasts and pollen information, andadvice to change the filter, have a priority of 15, 15, 9, 4, and 100respectively attached thereto (the method of priority attachment isdescribed later in more detail with reference to FIG. 18). Here, arrowsort1 indicates sorting in accordance with priority. As a result ofsorting the left-hand list of advice objects, the advice objects arereordered in the new order of advice to change the filter, advice to usethe night course, advice to automate washing and drying, advice to usejet drying, and informative advice on weather forecasts and polleninformation.

The priority attachment by the priority attacher 45 includes aninitialization performed when the service is started by a user thatinvolves initializing the priority values of the advice objects for thatuser, and an update performed in accordance with the auto-log, the otherdevice logs, and the overall user information that involves dynamicallyraising or lowering the priority. The initialization and update in thepriority attachment are together termed priority setting.

The priority attachment by the priority attacher 45 is described indetail below, with reference to different drawings. FIG. 9A depicts anexample of a formula for a priority calculation rule applied to theadvice objects. In this formula, the basis for priority calculation isgiven on the right-hand side of the equal sign. The first term is aninitial value of priority for the advice object. The second term is asummation operation. This summation operation takes the sum uponapplication of a weighting coefficient by a predetermined increment. Thepredetermined increment is the amount of change in priority. This valueis added to the initial value of the priority according to the presenceof information pertaining to the person who is to reference the adviceobject in the auto-log, the other device logs, and the overall userinformation. The third term is an increment value for the referencecount by others, and the fourth term is an increment value for thereference count by the user.

The weighting applied to the second term of the formula is describednext. The basis for the weighting by the aforementioned weightingcoefficient is the presence of information indicating that informationpertaining to the user who is to reference the advice object is found inany of the auto-log, the other device log, and the overall userinformation, or the relative newness of the creation date or update dateof information in which the information pertaining to the user who is toreference the advice object is desired. A system administrator decideswhat basis for weighting will be used. As for the timing of theabove-described weighting factor, it is applied when the advice objectis displayed on the terminal 103. The above-described presence, creationdate, and update date each change over time.

Referencing the creation date or the update date of the files storingthe external information, namely the social media information, the bloginformation, and the website information making up the overall userinformation, enables the creation date or the update date of the socialmedia information, the blog information, and the website information tobe understood. Likewise, referencing the creation date or the updatedate of the log information file storing the log information alsoenables the date and time at which the log information was last accessedto be understood. In the storage format where each file stores one pieceof log information, the creation date of a given piece of loginformation signifies the date and time at which the corresponding usageended. In the storage format where each file stores a plurality ofpieces of log information, the update date of a given piece of loginformation signifies the date and time at which the most recent usageamong a plurality of usage instances ended. Accordingly, in the presentEmbodiment, the relative newness of the auto-log and the overall userinformation is determined by comparing the creation date or the updatedate of the file storing the external information to the creation dateof the update date of the file storing the log information, andweighting is performed in accordance with determination results. Thechoice of whether to perform weighting according to presence or newnessmay be made dynamically by some sort of algorithm.

FIG. 9B schematically indicates the principles of weighting according tonewness of the auto-log and the other device log. The ordering of theother device log, the auto-log. and the overall user information underthe priority attacher 45 is reordered when the auto-log is updated, whenthe other device log is updated, and when the overall user informationis updated, producing the order auto-log, other device logs, and overalluser information, as stated. In FIG. 9B, the arrow ref1 schematicallyindicates the referencing of these types of information. Among thesepieces of information, the other device log has a date of Jun. 1, 2013,which is the newest and thus most heavily weighted. The reasoning isthat the newest log information is considered to more noticeably reflectthe user's recent conditions.

FIG. 9C schematically indicates the principles of priority weightingaccording to the type of information among the auto-log, the otherdevice logs, and the overall user information. The ordering of theoverall user information, the auto-log, and the other device logsdirectly below the priority attacher 45 represents the weight evaluationof the overall user information contents. That is, the weightingreflects evaluation principles such that the social media informationand the blog information more prominently represent the user's thoughts.As such, the priority attacher 45 works to understand the usercircumstances and the usage conditions of the household appliance byweighting according to the newness of information or the type ofinformation.

The change in priority applied by the priority attacher 45 in responseto referencing the user advice object is described next. Referencing mayoccur on the level of browsing, in which case the user expressesinterest in the advice object by displaying the details of the adviceobject, and on the level of applying, in which case the user actuallyoperates the household appliance in accordance with the advice object.Here, applying includes accessing a relevant website through a linkembedded in the advice object, as well as using a control commandembedded in the advice object to apply a setting to the householdappliance. An individual user applying the advice object is sufficientto lower the value of that advice object. Conversely, another personapplying the advice object is sufficient to relatively raise the valueof that advice object. FIGS. 10A and 10B schematically represent raisingand lowering in response to referencing by the user and by anotherperson.

FIG. 10A illustrates priority attachment performed by calculating areference count by others. On the left-hand side, a situation isimagined where three users BBB, CCC, and DDD have performed referencing.Here, operation op1 represents a touch operation on advice C. The middleportion illustrates the change in priority caused by the referencing ofadvice C. The respective priorities of advice A, advice B, and advice Care originally 11, 10, and 9. However, given that advice C has beenreferenced by the three users BBB, CCC, and DDD, the priority thereofbecomes 12(=9+3). The arrow sort2 indicates sorting of the advice objectaccording to priority after this change. On the right-hand side, thebrowser screen scn11 includes a list of the advice objects as reorderedin accordance with the priority after the change.

FIG. 10B illustrates priority attachment performed by changing thepriority according to whether or not the user has performed referencing.On the left-hand side, advice C is depicted as having been referencedtwice by user AAA. Here, operation op2 represents a touch operation onadvice C. The middle portion illustrates the change in priority causedby this touch operation. The respective priorities of advice A, adviceB, advice C, and advice D are originally 11, 10, 11, and 10. However,given that advice C has been touched twice, the priority of thereof isdecreased by the reference count and becomes 9(=11−2). Here, sort3indicates sorting in accordance with the priority after this change. Dueto this sorting, advice C is now ranked fourth. On the right-hand side,the browser screen scn12 includes a list of the advice objects asreordered in accordance with the priority after the change.

This concludes the detailed explanation of the priority attachment bythe priority attacher 45. The details of the advice object displayoperation by the priority attacher 45 are described next. Whenconstructing the browser screen, the screen creator 46 displays theadvice objects in a format suited to the priority thereof. Here, thedisplay format suited to the priority is any format communicating to theuser the intent of the provider regarding which of the advice objectsshould be viewed.

The recommendation screen area of the browser screen has properties. Thepriority attacher 45 is able to change the display format, set inaccordance with the priority of the advice objects, according to thesettings of these properties. Variations on the display format inaccordance with property settings are depicted in FIGS. 11A-11E and12A-12C. FIGS. 11A-11E illustrate screen configuration formats by thescreen creator 46. FIG. 11A depicts the most basic display format, inwhich the advice objects are displayed in a list. In this example, thepriority attacher 45 supplied a display list containing a predeterminednumber (here, four) of top-priority advice objects among those found ashits in the search. FIG. 11B depicts a cascade display. In the cascadedisplay, the top four advice objects are cascaded in full text display.A touch on an advice object having lower priority brings thatlower-ranked advice object to the front of the screen in detail view.FIG. 11C depicts a color-emphasis display. In this format, the screencreator 46 applies a bright color to a top-priority advice object whilethe lower-priority advice objects are grayed out for display. FIG. 11Ddepicts a combination of list display with audio readout. In thisformat, the abbreviated display of the advice object is combined withplayback of the full text of the main data for that advice object asaudio from a speaker. FIG. 11E depicts revolving display of a pluralityof advice objects in a predetermined period. The horizontal axis of FIG.11E is a chronological axis, and advice A through D is displayed inrepetition over a fixed period on this chronological axis. Given thatthe advice objects are displayed for only a fixed display interval, thescreen creator 46 starts a timer when creating the windows for detaileddisplay. Full-text display of the highest-ranked advice object continuesas long as the timer is counting. Once the timer times out, the windowfor full-text display of the advice object is closed and a window forthe next highest-ranked advice object is displayed.

Next, FIGS. 12A-12C depict changes in display format according tocategory. The category of the advice object may be support advice orrecommended advice. The support advice is an advice object for operatingan appliance under normal conditions. For example, for the laundrymachine, this includes cleaning the filter or tank washing. Therecommended advice is for appropriate operation within a range of normalconditions for the household appliance. The difference betweencategories produces a large change in display format.

FIG. 12A depicts a display format combining full-text display of supportadvice with abbreviated display of recommended advice. In FIG. 12A,screen scn21 includes full text display of support advice andabbreviated display of recommended advice. On this screen, a touchoperation made on the recommended advice (op11 in FIG. 12A) produces atransition to screen scn22 in the browser screen, where abbreviateddisplay of the support advice and full text display of the recommendedadvice are displayed. That is, in this combination, touching theabbreviated display causes the screen creator 46 to switch the supportadvice, previously in full-text display, to abbreviated display, and toreplace it with full-text display of the recommended advice.

FIG. 12B depicts a display format in which the highest-priority adviceobject among the plurality of advice objects is displayed with reasonsattached to explain the high priority. FIG. 12C depicts a display formatin which the priority of any advice objects that have been selected atleast once by the user is lowered. The right-hand side screen scn24depicts a provided list of advice A through advice E. In the middleportion, operation op12 represents a touch operation on advice C. Theright-hand screen scn25 depicts a list for display once the priority ofadvice C has decreased.

FIG. 13A depicts a situation where the advice objects subject to displayare unified using the category of the top-ranking advice object. Here,the top-ranking advice object is advice A. When advice A is supportadvice, then advice P, Q, and R, each belonging to the same supportadvice category as advice A, are displayed instead of advice B, adviceC, and advice D, which have the next-highest ranking after advice A.

FIG. 13B depicts device-specific advice objects being displayed. Theleft-hand side of FIG. 13B depicts a touch being made to the top left ofthe device icon list, as indicated by arrow op21. Here, as indicated byscreen scn41 on the right-hand side, advice U, V, and W are provided fordisplay, as these advice objects are for the device that has beentouched. FIG. 13C depicts advice object display in two respectiveregions, where a first region and a second region have been providedwithin a new information region. FIG. 13D depicts chronologicaldistribution in the first region and the second region. In FIG. 13D, thehorizontal axis is a chronological axis, the display interval for thefirst region and the second region being allocated along thischronological axis. Here, after the display interval for the secondregion has elapsed, the advice object in the second region, namelyadvice B, is changed to advice C. Advice A, allocated to the firstregion, is changed to advice D once the display interval for the firstregion has elapsed. The length of the display interval for the secondregion (three frames) is shorter than the interval for the first region(five frames), such that the display frequency is higher in the secondregion than in the first region.

FIG. 14A depicts advice objects split into support advice andrecommended advice for display. The right-hand side of FIG. 14A depictsthe display of the support advice and the recommended advice over time.With respect to the chronological axis in FIG. 14A, the display intervalfor the support advice is longer than the display interval for therecommended advice. With respect to the chronological axis of FIG. 14A,the support advice and the recommended advice are reach sequentiallydisplayed in accordance with changing priority.

FIG. 14B depicts support advice and recommended advice displayed in asingle display area by time-division. The horizontal axis of FIG. 14B isa chronological axis. The display interval for the support advice andthe display interval for the recommended advice are allocated inalternation with respect to the chronological axis. Through thisallocation, the support advice and the recommended advice is displayedin order of priority in individual display intervals. This concludes theexplanation of the display formats used by the screen creator 46. Nowthat the explanation of display formats is complete, informationreferencing in connection with priority attachment for each piece ofadvice is provided next.

Given that supplying explanations for all of the display formatspresented in FIGS. 11A-11E, 12A-12C, 13A-13D, and 14A-14B would becomplex, the following explanation refers only to the list displayformat of FIG. 11A.

(Reference Source for Priority Attachment)

The reference source for priority attachment may be the log information,the household appliances used by the logged-in user (i.e., the auto-logand the other device logs), and the overall user information. Theinformation provision system of the present Embodiment comprehensivelyincludes these reference sources. As such, reference information forpriority attachment is available for each providable piece of advice.The reference information for reference attachment is configured from areference source category and a description relating to the profile ofthe person who is to reference the advice at the reference source.

When the reference source for priority attachment includes thedescription of the profile of the person who is to reference the advice,i.e., when any of the auto-log, the other device logs, and the overalluser information include the description of the profile of the personwho is to reference the advice, the priority of each advice object isincreased by a predetermined increment satisfying an advice-specificstandard. This changes the priority of each advice object. Accordingly,the priority is changeable in accordance with the substance of theadvice. The profile of the person who is to reference the advice is notrestricted to one profile per advice object. Each advice object maycorrespond to a plurality of profiles in a one-to-many relationship.

FIGS. 15, 16A, 16B, 17A, and 17B indicate the descriptions associatedwith one or more profiles of people who are to reference the adviceobject, the reference source for priority attachment, the body of theadvice, and the category. As shown, the following elements are commonlyshared. The items in the horizontal direction of each table read AdviceCategory, Abbreviated Display, Priority Increment: High/Low PriorityPerson, and Reference Source for Priority Attachment. The vertical axisitems each list pieces of advice. Here, the designations in theReference Source for Priority Attachment are not restricted toindicating one of the auto-log, the other device logs, and the overalluser information (internal information or external information). Thereference source specifies information required as a key. As such, theinformation acting as a key for the reference source serves to identifywhether or not a logged-in user is the person who should reference theadvice. The description of the reference source for priority attachmentdepicted here explains signals for identifying a certain type of person.

(Advice Recommending a Night Course)

The first row of FIG. 15 indicates the details of advice recommendingthe use of a night course. The Advice Category entry indicates that thispiece of advice recommends the use of an unused function, and is thuscategorized as recommended advice. The Abbreviated Display entryindicates the format for abbreviated display is text about the nightcourse recommendation. The Priority Increment: High/Low Priority Personentry indicates that the profile of a person who would increase thepriority of this advice includes a person who does laundry at night, aperson who is often sensitive to noise, a person living in an apartmentbuilding, and a person concerned with ambient noise. The profile of aperson who would decrease the priority includes a person who prefersthorough washing or a person wanting to finish laundry immediately. InFIG. 15, increments a1 through a5 represent the increment added to thepriority of the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile.

The Reference Source of Priority Attachment entry indicates that thereference source for priority attachment is an identification of aperson fitting the profile. For this piece of advice, the referencesource for priority attachment is the auto-log. A person who doeslaundry at night is identified as indicated in the Reference Source forPriority Attachment entry for increment a1, by finding whether or notthe log information for the laundry machine in the auto-log gives alaundry time at night, which is defined as being from 11:00 PM to 4:00PM. Given that doing laundry at night requires that attention be paid tonoise, when the logged-in user fits the profile, the priority of thisadvice is increased by increment a1.

A person who is often sensitive to noise is identified as indicated inthe Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment a2, bydetermining whether or not the log information for a portable phone isusually set to silent mode and whether or not the external information(i.e., social media information and blog information for the logged-inuser) describes sensitivity to noise. When the logged-in user fits theprofile, the priority of this advice is increased by increment a2.

A person living in an apartment building and a person concerned withambient noise is identified as indicated in the Reference Source forPriority Attachment entry for increment a3 by finding whether or not thelog information for a television or audio device (i.e., other devicelogs) indicates a history of setting the volume low, finding whether ornot headphones are used to listen to the television or to music, andfinding whether or not the home address in the registered informationfor the user is the address of an apartment building. In such cases, thelogged-in user may be identified as living in an apartment building andbeing concerned with ambient noise. When the logged-in user fits theprofile, the priority of this advice is increased by increment a3.

The logged-in user is identified as preferring thorough washing asindicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrement a4, by finding whether or not the log information for thelaundry machine includes a usage history of a powerful course. Thepowerful course is a laundry machine function that combines pre-washingof a garment surface with high-density detergent, wrap washing ofgarments with high-density suds, repeated jet shower cycles to cause thedetergent to soak in, and final washing by using normal-densitydetergent to remove everything that has been washed away. The use ofsuch a powerful course suggests that the logged-in user has a strongpreference for cleanliness. When the logged-in user fits the profile,the need to make the recommendation with this advice is lower, such thatthe negative increment a4 is added to the priority value of the advice.

The logged-in user is identified as wanting to finish laundryimmediately as indicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachmententry for increment a5 by finding whether or not the log information forthe laundry machine indicates a cleaning frequency that is daily or atleast 2 to 3 times per week. A high frequency of laundry suggests thatthe need for this advice is low. When the logged-in user fits theprofile, the negative increment a5 is added to the priority of theadvice.

(Advice to Automate Washing and Drying)

The second row of FIG. 15 indicates the details of advice to automatewashing and drying. This advice is intended to fully utilize the laundrymachine 31, and as such this advice is classified as recommended advice(for full utilization). The content of the abbreviated displaycommunicates to the user that automatic washing and drawing saves timeand reduces electricity costs and is therefore worthwhile.

The Priority Increment: High/Low Priority Person entry for the advice toautomate washing and drying indicates that the profile of a user whowould increase the priority includes a person who does not want to hanglaundry outside, a person concerned with the electricity bill, anecologically-conscious person, a person wanting to finish quickly, aperson who does not know about this function, a person living in an areathat will have bad weather the next day, a working person (active atnight), and a sloppy person. In FIG. 15, increments b1 through b9represent the increments added to the priority of the advice when thelogged-in user fits the profile.

Conversely, the profile of a user who would decrease the priorityincludes a person wanting to separate washing and drying for clothingthat shrinks, and a person living in an area that will have nice weatherthe next day. In FIG. 15, increments b10 and b11 represent the incrementadded to the priority of the advice when the logged-in user fits theprofile. A person who does not want to hang clothes outside isidentified as indicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachmententry for increment b1, by determining whether a high-pollen period iscurrently in effect and whether or not the external information for thelogged-in user suggests a pollen allergy.

A person concerned with the electricity bill is identified as indicatedin the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment b2,by checking whether the other device logs indicate a lower than averageelectricity cost given equivalent conditions. An ecologically-consciousperson is identified as indicated in the Reference Source for PriorityAttachment entry for increment b3 by finding whether or not theauto-log, namely the log information for the laundry machine 31,indicates a usage history for drying. That is, a person who does not usethe drying function is likely to be concerned with the electricity bill.

A person who does not know about the automatic washing and dryingfunction is identified as indicated in the Reference Source for PriorityAttachment entry for increment b5 by determining whether or not theauto-log indicates a usage history of the home cleaning function. Thehome cleaning function is a laundry machine function that combines watercirculation washing by circulating water in the washing tank throughcentrifugal force caused by the rotation of the laundry tank andscrubbing through the rotation of a pulsator (a water wheel provided atthe bottom of the tank). The home cleaning function is very similar toautomatic washing and drying. As such, the auto-log indicating a usagehistory for this function suggests that the home cleaning function hasbeen confused the automatic washing and drying function. Thus, whenthere is a usage history of the home cleaning function in the auto-log,increment b5 is added to the priority of this advice.

A user living in an area that will have good or bad weather the next dayis identified as indicated in the Reference Source for PriorityAttachment entry for increments b6 and b11, by determining whether ornot a weather report for the next day at the home address of thelogged-in user indicates sunshine, rain, or similar. A working person(active at night) is identified as indicated in the Reference Source forPriority Attachment entry for increment b7, by determining whether ornot the registered information for the user indicates an occupation andwhether the external information for the user indicates anythingrelevant.

A person who does laundry at night is identified by determining whetheror not the auto-log indicates a history of doing laundry at night. Asloppy person is identified by determining whether or not the externalinformation indicates anything relevant. A person wanting to separatewashing and drying for clothing that shrinks is identified as indicatedin the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment b10,by finding whether or not the auto-log indicates a change in volumebetween washing and drying. The appropriate increment is added to thepriority of the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile.

(Use of Jet Drying Function)

The third row of FIG. 15 indicates the details of jet drying advice torecommend the use of a jet drying function. The jet drying functioninvolves rotating the drum of the laundry machine 31 left and rightwhile the heat pump engine blows a jet wind through the drum whilereversing. This advice is classified as recommended advice (arecommendation to use an unused function) as per the Category entry. Thecontent of the Abbreviated Display entry for this advice indicates thatjet drying can reduce wrinkles in loads that are 3 kg and under. Thisindicates the volume restriction for the jet drying function while alsopromoting the advantage of the jet drying function, namely reducingwrinkles, to the logged-in user. The Priority Increment: High/LowPriority Person entry for the advice indicates the profile of a user whowould increase the priority includes a working person, a person who doesnot own or does not use an iron, a person in a dormitory, a personliving alone, and a person working away from home. In FIG. 15,increments c1 through c5 represent the increment added to the priorityof the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile. The profile of aperson who would lower the priority includes a person concerned withnoise, a person with a large family, a person concerned with theelectricity bill, and a person who is highly ecologically conscious. InFIG. 15, increments c6 through c9 represent the increment added to thepriority of the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile.

A working person is identified as indicated in the Reference Source forPriority Attachment entry for increment c1 by determining whether or notthere is a usage history for the laundry machine at night. A person whodoes not own or does not use an iron, a person in a dormitory, a personliving alone, and a person working away from home ate identified asindicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrements c2 through c6 in accordance with the registered informationfor the user.

A person who does not own or does not use an iron is identified bydetermining whether or not the registered information for the userdescribes the occupation of the logged-in user. A person in a dormitoryis identified by determining whether or not the registered informationfor the user describes the occupation of the logged-in user but does notlist any dependents. A person living alone is identified by determiningwhether or not the registered information for the user lists anydependents

A person working away from home is identified by determining whether ornot the registered information for the user lists an occupation anddependents but also indicates a work assignment away from home. A personwith a large family is identified as indicated in the Reference Sourcefor Priority Attachment entry for increment c7 by determining whether ornot the volume and frequency of laundry loads correspond to a largefamily. A person concerned with the electricity bill and a person who ishighly ecologically conscious are identified as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increments c8 and c9by checking whether the other device logs indicates energy-savingsettings.

The appropriate increment is added to the priority of the advice whenthe logged-in user fits the profile.

(Notification Advice on Weather Forecast and Pollen Information)

The first row of FIG. 16A indicates the details of notification adviceon weather forecast and pollen information (i.e., notificationsregarding the weather forecast and pollen information). This advice isclosely connected to the usage of the household appliances and should beassociated with any use of the household appliances. As such, thisadvice is described as recommended advice (appliance-related externalinformation). The Abbreviated Display content of the advice indicates anotification of the weather forecast or pollen information. The PriorityIncrement: High/Low Priority Person entry for the advice indicates thatthe profile of a person who would raise the priority includes a personwho performs drying outdoors and a person with a pollen allergy. Theprofile of a person who would lower the priority includes a person whoperforms drying indoors and a person who uses the automatic drying mode.In FIG. 16A, increments d1 through d4 represent the increment added tothe priority of the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile.

A person who performs drying outdoors is identified as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment d1 bydetermining whether or not the auto-log indicates laundry performed inthe morning or between noon and 5:00 PM or indicates that only washingis performed, and determining whether or not the registered informationfor the user indicates a brand of detergent for outdoor drying. A personwho uses the automatic drying mode is identified by the presence of ausage history for the automatic drying mode or a usage history of adehumidifying mode in the auto-log.

A person with a pollen allergy is identified as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment d1 bydetermining whether or not the other device logs indicate a usagehistory of an air purifier. A person who performs drying indoors isidentified as indicated for increment d3 by determining whether theregistered information for the user indicates a brand of detergent forindoor drying, and whether or not the other device logs include a usagehistory of a laundry drying mode or a dehumidifying mode on an airconditioner.

The appropriate increment is added to the priority of the advice whenthe logged-in user fits the profile.

(Advice to Clean the Filter)

The second row of FIG. 16A indicates the details of advice to clean thefilter. The Category entry for the advice indicates that this advice issupport advice. The content of the Abbreviated Display entry indicates areminder to perform filter cleaning, specifically indicating thatcleaning the filter reduces drying time. The Priority Increment:High/Low Priority Person entry indicates that the profile of a personwho would increase the priority of this advice includes a person who hasnever cleaned the filter, a person who uses the drying function, and aperson who does not know that cleaning is necessary. In FIG. 16A,increments e1 through e3 represent the increment added to the priorityof the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile. Given that thispiece of advice is support advice, the increment greatly exceeds thevalue of other pieces of advice. The profile of a user who woulddecrease the priority includes a person who has cleaned the filter and aperson who does not use the drying function. In FIG. 16A, increments e4and e5 represent the increment added to the priority of the advice whenthe logged-in user fits the profile.

A person who has never cleaned the filter is identified as indicated inthe Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment e1 bydetermining whether or not the auto-log indicates an obstructionoccurring in at least three continuous days. A person is identified asusing or not using the drying function as indicated for increment e2, bydetermining whether or not the auto-log indicates a usage history ofautomatic drying or of drying alone. The appropriate increment is addedto the priority of the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile.

A person who does not know that cleaning is required is identified asindicated for increment e3 by determining whether or not the externalinformation for the user suggests as much. The user is identified ascleaning the filter or not as indicated for increment e4, by determiningwhether or not the usage information indicates a history of cleaning thefilter. A person is identified as using or not using the drying functionas indicated for increment e5, by determining whether or not theauto-log indicates a usage history of using the drying function.

The appropriate increment is added to the priority of the advice whenthe logged-in user fits the profile.

(Advice on Excessive Detergent)

The third row of FIG. 16A indicates the details of advice on excessivedetergent. The advice Category entry indicates that this advice isrecommended advice for suggesting full utilization. The content of theAbbreviated Display entry for this advice shows the text “Too muchdetergent. You only need xx cups of detergent for the x kg of theprevious load” where the values for volume and for the appropriatevolume of detergent therefore being calculated from the previous load.The Priority Increment: High/Low Priority Person entry for the advice onexcessive detergent indicates that the profile of a person who wouldincrease the priority includes a person concerned with darkening, aperson who uses too much detergent, a person who has changed detergents,and a person using the laundry machine for the first time. In FIG. 16A,increments f1 through f4 represent the increment added to the priorityof the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile.

Turning to the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry, a personconcerned with darkening is identified as indicated in the ReferenceSource for Priority Attachment entry for increment f1, by determiningwhether or not the log information for the laundry machine includes ausage history of a course for washing fancy clothing. A person who usestoo much detergent is identified as indicated for increment f2, bydetermining whether or not de-sudsing has been performed consecutivelythree or more times and whether or not the volume of detergent is equalto or greater than a threshold.

A person who has changed detergents is identified as indicated forincrement f3, by determining whether or not the registered informationfor the user indicates a change in registered detergent. A person usingthe laundry machine for the first time is identified is indicated forincrement f4, whether or not there is a usage history for the laundrymachine 31 in the auto-log within the past week. The appropriateincrement is added to the priority of the advice when the logged-in userfits the profile.

(Advice on Extensive Drying Time)

The first row of FIG. 16B indicates the details of advice on extensivedrying time. The advice on extensive drying time indicates the reasonwhy the drying time is extended as well as a solution to the issue. Thisadvice is classified as recommended advice (for full utilization) as perthe Category entry. The content of the Abbreviated Display entry showsthe text “Drying time has been extended due to xxx. Please follow theguide for a solution” telling the user that too much detergent is beingused and reminding the user to use an amount of detergent appropriate tothe previous load. The Priority Increment: High/Low Priority Personentry for the advice indicates that the profile of a person who wouldincrease the priority includes a person performing drying and a personperforming drying for a long time. In FIG. 16B increments g1 and g2represent the increment added to the priority of the advice when thelogged-in user fits the profile.

A user is identified as a person who performs drying as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment g1, bydetermining whether or not the auto-log indicates a history of at leastthree consecutive instances of washing or drying. A person performingdrying for a long time is identified as indicated in the ReferenceSource for Priority Attachment entry for increment g2 by determiningwhether or not a drying interval exceeds a predetermined threshold.

The priority of the advice on extensive drying time is incremented by g1or g2 when the user fits the profile.

(Recommended Advice for a Frequently-Used Course by Similar Users)

The second row of FIG. 16B indicates the details of recommended advicefor a frequently-used course for similar users. The advice Categoryentry indicates that this advice is recommended advice for suggestingfull utilization. The content of the Abbreviated Display entry indicatesa recommendation of a course frequently uses by other users who arefound to be similar due to having the same family structure and livingin the same area. The Priority Increment: High/Low Priority Person entryfor the recommended advice for a course frequently used by similar usersindicates that the profile of a person who would increase the priorityincludes a person concerned with others, a person unsure about theirlaundry, a person loosely connected to others on social media and thelike, a person wanting to be more efficient with laundry, and a personseeking self-improvement. In FIG. 16B, increments h1 through h4represent the increment added to the priority of the advice when thelogged-in user fits the profile.

A person concerned with others is identified as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment h1 bydetermining whether or not the age of the user, as indicated in theregistered information for that user, is an age at which lifestylechanges such as starting school or getting a first job are common. Whenthe logged-in user fits the profile, the priority of this advice isincreased by increment h1. A person unsure about their laundry isidentified as indicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachmententry for increment h2, by determining whether or not the registeredinformation for the user indicates a subscription to a mailing list.When the logged-in user fits the profile, the priority of this advice isincreased by increment h2.

A person loosely connected to others on social media and the like isidentified as indicated for increment h3 by determining whether a usagehistory of social media is indicated in the external information. Thatis, such a person is identifiable by a predetermined number of friends,posts, views, likes, and comments. When the logged-in user fits theprofile, the priority of this advice is increased by increment h3.

A person wanting to be more efficient with laundry and a person seekingself-improvement are identified as indicated in the Reference Source forPriority Attachment entry for increment h4, by determining whether ornot the other device logs indicate a usage history for various menus,not limited to the laundry machine. When the logged-in user fits theprofile, the priority of this advice is increased by increment h4.

(Detergent Ranking Advice)

The third row of FIG. 16B indicates the details of detergent rankingadvice. This advice displays a ranking of popular detergents on theterminal 103. The advice Category entry indicates that this advice isrecommended advice for full utilization. The content of the AbbreviatedDisplay indicates a ranking of popular detergents currently on themarket. The Priority Increment: High/Low Priority Person entry for theadvice indicates that the profile of a person who would raise thepriority includes a person concerned with others, a person dissatisfiedwith their current detergent, a person who frequently changesdetergents, and a detergent manufacturer. When the user fits any ofthese profiles, the corresponding increment i1 through i4 from FIG. 16Bis added to the priority of the advice.

A person concerned with others is identified as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment i1 bydetermining whether or not the external information indicates as much.

A person dissatisfied with their current detergent is identified asindicated for increment i2, by determining whether or not the auto-logindicates water washing time in one-hour units. When the tank isrepeatedly cleaned and the detergent used is a commercial non-chlorinetype, more time is required for water washing as suds are produced inlarge volumes. When the auto-log indicates washing time in one-hourunits, the advice should recommend using a chlorine detergent. For thisrecommendation, increment i2 is added to the priority of the advice whenthe user fits the profile of a person dissatisfied with their currentdetergent.

A person who frequently changes detergents is identified as indicated inthe Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment i3, bydetermining whether or not the registered information for the userindicates a change in registered detergent. When such a change occurs,increment i3 is added to the priority of the advice. A detergentmanufacturer is identified as indicated in the Reference Source forPriority Attachment entry for increment i4 by determining whether theregistered information for the user lists an occupation as working for adetergent manufacturer. When this applies, increment i4 is added to thepriority of the advice.

(Tank Washing Advice)

The fourth row of FIG. 16B indicates the details of advice to use tankwashing. The Category entry for this advice indicates support advice,categorized as being for maintenance. The content of the AbbreviatedDisplay entry indicates that the advice to use tank washing is given inconnection with a promotional campaign. The Priority Increment: High/LowPriority Person entry for the advice to use tank washing indicates thatthe profile of a user who would increase the priority includes a personwho has never used tank washing and a person who has done laundry for acumulative total that at least meets a threshold. The profile of aperson who would decrease the priority includes a person who has donelaundry for a cumulative total that does not meet the threshold.

This concludes the explanation of the advice objects for the laundrymachine 31. The details of advice objects pertaining to the cookingdevice 32 are described next. The first row of FIG. 17A indicates thedetails of advice recommending the use of an automatic cooking menu,adapted to resent usage trends. This advice is categorized asrecommended advice (recommendation to use an unused function). Thecontent of the Abbreviated Display entry indicates a reminder to selecta title from an automatic cooking menu performable by the cooking device32 for use as an automatic cooking menu adopted to recent usage trends.The profile of a person who would increase the priority of this adviceincludes a person wanting to learn more about microwave functions, and aperson who performs similar cooking without using the automatic cookingfunction. The profile of a person who would lower the priority includesa person who has decided on functions for ordinary use. In FIG. 17A,increments k1 through k3 represent the increment added to the priorityof the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile.

A person wanting to learn more about microwave functions is identifiedas indicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrement k1 by determining whether or not the external informationindicates as much. When the logged-in user fits the profile, thepriority of this advice is increased by increment k1. A person whoperforms similar cooking without using the automatic cooking function isidentified as indicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachmententry for increment k2, by determining whether or not the auto-logindicates microwave setting times that exceed a threshold. A lengthymicrowave setting time suggests repeated attempts to cook through trialand error. When the logged-in user fits the profile, the priority ofthis advice is increased by increment k2.

A person who has decided on functions for ordinary use is identified asindicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrement k3, by determining whether or not the auto-log indicates ausage history to this effect. When the logged-in user fits the profile,the priority of this advice is increased by increment k3.

(Advice for Microwave Maintenance)

The second row of FIG. 17A indicates the details of advice for microwavemaintenance. This advice is categorized as recommended advice(recommendation to use an unused function). The content of theAbbreviated Display simply states that using a maintenance function isrecommended. The Priority Increment: High/Low Priority Person entry forthe advice indicates that the profile of a person who would increase thepriority includes a person cooking smelly food, a person concerned withodors, a person cooking with oil, a person who does not want to spendtime on maintenance, a person approaching a major cleaning period, aperson approaching a regular cleaning period, and a person who has justused the microwave. In FIG. 17A, increments 11 through 17 represent theincrement added to the priority of the advice when the logged-in userfits the profile. In contrast, the profile of a user who would decreasethe priority includes an ecologically-conscious person and a person whocleans the microwave every day. The priority is increased by increments18 and 19 when the logged-in user fits the profile.

A person cooking smelly food and a person cooking with oil areidentified as indicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachmententry for increments 11 and 13, by determining whether or not theauto-log, i.e., the log information for the microwave, indicates a usagehistory of a mode for cooking fish. The appropriate increment is addedto the priority of the advice when the logged-in user fits the profile.A person concerned with odors is identified as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment 12, bydetermining whether or not there is a usage history for an air purifierimmediately after using the microwave.

A person who does not want to spend time on maintenance is identified asindicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrement 14 by determining whether or not the external informationindicates as much. A person approaching a major cleaning period or aregular cleaning period is identified as indicated in the ReferenceSource for Priority Attachment entry for increments 15 and 16, bydetermining whether or not the external information indicates as much.

A person who has just used the microwave is identified as indicated inthe Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment 17 bydetermining whether or not the usage history indicates that themicrowave has just been used.

An ecologically-conscious person is identified as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment 18, bydetermining whether or not the external information indicates as much.

A person who cleans the microwave every day is identified by determiningwhether or not the log information for a vacuum cleaner (in the otherdevice logs) indicates a daily usage history for the vacuum cleaner.

The appropriate increment is added to the priority of the advice whenthe logged-in user fits the profile.

(Monthly Most Frequently-Used Cooking Menu)

The first row of the top tier of FIG. 17B indicates the details ofadvice presenting a top menu related to monthly most-frequently usedcooking menus and a referral for a cooking class. These pieces of adviceare classified as recommended advice (appliance-related externalinformation). The content of the Abbreviated Display indicates that topmenus pulled from cookpad (™), ABC Cooking (™), and so on, along with areferral for a specific cooking class. The Priority Increment: High/LowPriority Person entry for the advice indicates that the profile of aperson who would increase the priority of the advice includes a personfacing difficulty in daily meal planning. The profile of a person whowould decrease the priority includes a person who only uses themicrowave for reheating and a person who does not use the microwave forcooking. When the profile of the user fits these conditions, incrementsm1 and m2 are added to the priority for the advice.

A person facing difficulty with daily meal planning is identified asindicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrement m1, by external information for the user indicating as much,by the auto-log and other device logs indicating appliance operationconditions during the day specific to a homemaker, and by findingwhether or not the log information for a video recording device, i.e.,another device log, indicates a recording history of cooking programs.

A person who only uses the microwave for reheating and a person who doesnot use the microwave for cooking are identified as indicated in theReference Source for Priority Attachment entry for increment m2, bydetermining whether or not the log information for the microwave onlylists a usage history for an automatic warming mode. The second row ofthe top tier of FIG. 17B indicates the details of advice presentingrecommended operations performed manually and with the microwave. Theadvice Category entry indicates that this advice is recommended advice.The content of the Abbreviated Display integrates the names of theprocesses performed manually and with the microwave oven, and remindsthe user to use them. The profile of a person who would increase thepriority of this advice includes a foodie and a person sensitive totaste differences. The profile of a person who would decrease thepriority of this advice includes a person who is not sensitive to tastedifferences and a person who prefers simple cooking.

A foodie and a person sensitive to taste differences are identified asindicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrement n1, by determining whether the log information for a videorecording device serving as other log information indicates a recordinghistory of foodie programs. Recording foodie-oriented programs suggeststhat this person has strong preferences in terms of taste. When thelogged-in user fits the profile, the priority of this advice isincreased by increment n1.

A person who is not sensitive to taste differences is identified asindicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrement n2, by determining whether or not the external informationindicates as much. When the logged-in user fits the profile, thepriority of this advice is increased by increment n2. A person whoprefers simple cooking is identified as indicated in the ReferenceSource for Priority Attachment entry for increment n3, by determiningwhether the registered information for the user includes child-orientedsettings. Such a profile suggests that the user is raising a child andis unable to spend much time on cooking. When the logged-in user fitsthe profile, the priority of this advice is increased by increment n3.

This concludes the explanation of the advice objects for the cookingdevice 32. For reference, advice objects intended for the jar ricecooker 34 are also provided.

(Jar Rice Cooker Advice)

The advice for the jar rice cooker 34 is described as indicated in thelower tier of FIG. 17B. For the recommendation for keep-warm time thatpreserves flavor, the profile of a person who would increase thepriority includes a person who uses the keep-warm function for longperiods, and the profile of a person who would decrease the priorityincludes a person who only briefly uses the keep-warm function.

A person who uses the keep-warm function for long periods is identifiedas indicated in the Reference Source for Priority Attachment entry forincrement o1, by determining whether or not the auto-log indicates thatthe keep-warm function of the rice cooker has been used at least as longas a threshold. A person who uses the keep-warm function only for shortperiods is identified as indicated in the Reference Source for PriorityAttachment entry for increment o2, by determining whether or not theauto-log indicates that the keep-warm function of the rice cooker hasbeen used for less time than the threshold.

The appropriate increment is added to the priority of the advice whenthe logged-in user fits the profile. The tables of FIGS. 15, 16A, 16B,17A, and 17B are defined for profiles of persons who would reference theadvice. The descriptions may vary provided that some characteristic ofthe profile is included. The determinations may also be corrected afterthe fact by the provider of the advice provision method.

This concludes the explanation of the reference source for priorityattachment relating to changing the priority of the advice. Next, aspecific example is used to describe the changes in priority for thepieces of advice, thereby providing deeper technical understanding.Here, the specific example involves determining the most appropriateorder of advice for a user having the profile on the left-hand side ofFIG. 18A (namely user AAA). The right-hand side of FIG. 18A lists theauto-log, the other device log, and the overall user information foruser AAA. The auto-log, the other device log, and the overall userinformation are subject to the advice-specific standards given in FIGS.15, 16A, 16B, 17A, and 17B. The left-hand side of FIG. 18B indicatesfive pieces of advice to be provided to the user (namely advicerecommending the use of a night course, advice to automate washing anddrying, advice to use jet drying, advice making a notification aboutweather forecast and pollen information, and advice to clean thefilter).

The priority for the advice recommending the use of a night course isset as follows. The auto-log for user AAA includes a usage history forthe laundry machine in the time slot from 11:00 PM to 11:30 PM on Jun.1, 2013, again in the time slot from 11:45 PM on Jun. 2, 2013 to 12:15AM the next day, and again from 11:15 PM to 11:45 PM on Jun. 3, 2013. Assuch, increment a1 is added to the priority of the advice recommendingthe use of the night course. The log information for the television,serving as the other device log, indicates a history of using headphonesto watch television. As such, increment a2 is added to the priority ofthe advice recommending the use of the night course. Also, the overalluser information for user AAA lists a home address that is an apartmentbuilding. As such, increment a3 is added to the priority of the advicerecommending the use of the night course. With the addition of the aboveincrements, the priority of the advice recommending the use of the nightcourse becomes a1+a2+a3.

The priority for the advice to automate washing and drying is set asfollows. The overall user information for user AAA indicates employmentat a corporation. As such increment b7 is added to the priority of theadvice to automate washing and drying. Also, there is a history of doinglaundry at night, and as such increment b8 is added. With the additionof the above increments, the priority of the advice to automate washingand drying becomes b7+b8. The priority for the advice to use jet dryingis set as follows. The overall user information for user AAA indicatesemployment at a corporation and living alone. As such, increments c1 andc4 are added to the priority of the advice to use jet drying. Theoverall user information also indicates a concern with noise, and assuch increment c6 is added. With the addition of the above increments,the priority of the advice to use jet drying becomes c1+c4+c6.

The priority for the advice making a notification about weather forecastand pollen information is set as follows. The overall user informationfor user AAA indicates a pollen allergy. As such, increment d1 is addedto the priority of the advice making a notification about weatherforecast and pollen information. With the addition of the aboveincrement, the priority of the advice making a notification aboutweather forecast and pollen information becomes d1. The priority of theadvice to clean the filter is set as follows. The auto-log for user AAAindicates that filter obstructions have occurred for three continuousdays from Jun. 1, 2013, to Jun. 3, 2013. As such, increment e1 is addedto the priority of the advice to clean the filter.

As a result of the above, and as depicted in FIG. 18C, the cumulativevalues of the priority for each piece of advice are respectively:a1+a2+a3 for the advice recommending the use of the night course, b7+b8for the advice to automate washing and drying, c1+c4+c6 for the adviceto use jet drying, d1 for the advice making a notification about weatherforecast and pollen information, and e1 for the advice to clean thefilter. Here, these increments have respective values of 5 forincrements a1 through a3, 7 for b7 and b8, 4 for c1, c4, and c6, and 100for e1. Increment e1 has a three-digit value, which is remarkably largeamong priority increments, because the advice to clean the filter isclassified as support advice. Accordingly, the total advice incrementsare as given in FIG. 18B: e1>a1+a2+a3>c1+c4+c6>b7+b8>d1. Sorting theadvice according to the priority as obtained from these totals producesthe order indicated in FIG. 18D. That is, the pieces of advice areordered as advice to clean the filter −> advice recommending the use ofa night course −> advice to use jet drying−> advice to automate washingand drying−> advice making a notification about weather forecast andpollen information. The advice is sorted in accordance with theparticular circumstances of the user and provided as a list, whichprovides support to the user of the household appliances in a moreuser-friendly format.

(Specific Process of Advice Provision Method)

The processing involved in the advice provision method is generalizableas a process applicable to the content of the above-described auto-log,other device logs, and overall user information, in accordance with theadvice-specific standards. The generalized processing is indicated inthe flowcharts of FIGS. 19 through 35. These flowcharts are describedbelow.

FIG. 19 depicts the main flowchart. In step S1, the log-in screen isdisplayed (step S1). In step S2, a determination is made regardingwhether or not the user has been authenticated as valid. When the userhas been authenticated as valid, then in step S3, a product code isacquired for a device registered to the logged-in user, a search isperformed for an advice configuration using the product code, and anadvice object is generated as an instance of the advice configurationfor each hit found in the search (step S4). In step S5, a determinationis made regarding whether or not any advice has been found in thesearch. In step S6, priority is attached to each advice object inaccordance with the reference source for priority attachment, namelywhether or not the logged-in user is to reference the advice. In stepS7, a plurality of advice objects are displayed in accordance withpriority. In step S8, a list of registered device icons based on theregistered information for the logged-in user is displayed under thelist of advice. Steps S9 and S10 are then executed in a loop. This loopinvolves determining whether a touch operation has been performed on anyof the advice objects (step S9) and whether a touch operation has beenperformed on any of the device icons (step S10). Upon a determination ofYes in step S9, then in step S11, full-text display of the relevantadvice object is performed and the process returns to the loop of stepS9 and step S10. Upon a determination of Yes in step S10, then in stepS12, display is performed of a list containing only advice objectspertaining to the device that has been touched.

In step S6, a determination is made regarding whether or not theadvice-specific standards are satisfied. The flowcharts of FIGS. 20through 33 indicate subroutines defining the details of step S6. FIG. 20depicts a flowchart of the processing for attaching priority to eachpiece of advice. In this flowchart, the priority of the advice objectsis initialized in step S13, and a loop occurs at step S14. The loopapplies the processing of steps S15 through S20 to each of the adviceobjects. In step S15, a search is performed in the auto-log, the otherdevice logs, and the overall user information for information pertainingto the profile of the person who should reference the advice, and anincrement is calculated in accordance with the number of hits. In stepS16, each increment is weighted according to the newness and type of theauto-log, the other device log, and the overall user information, andthen summed. In step S17, a determination is made regarding whether ornot the advice has been referenced by another person. In the affirmativecase, the reference count is added to the priority of that advice instep S18. In step S19, a determination is made regarding whether or notthe advice object has been referenced by the logged-in user. In theaffirmative case, the reference count is added to the priority of thatadvice object in step S20. The priority attachment is performed byapplying this process to each of the advice objects generated from thehits in the search for the product code.

FIG. 21 depicts a flowchart indicating the process for the advicerecommending the use of a night course. In step S21 a determination ismade regarding whether or not the auto-log indicates a usage time from11:00 PM and 4:00 AM. When the result of step S21 is Yes, then in stepS22, an increment is added to the priority of the advice recommendingthe use of a night course for the person who does laundry at night. Whenthe result of step S21 is No, then step S22 is skipped.

In step S23, a determination is made regarding whether the mode settingindicated in the log information for a portable phone is silent mode,and whether or not the external information indicates being concernedwith noise. When the result is Yes, then in step S24, an increment isadded to the priority of the advice recommending the use of a nightcourse for the person concerned with ambient noise. In step S25, adetermination is made regarding whether the television volume is lowerat night, or whether there is a usage history of headphones. In theaffirmative case, then in step S26, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice recommending the use of a night course for theperson living in an apartment building.

In step S27, a determination is made regarding whether or not theauto-log indicates a usage history of a powerful course. In theaffirmative case, then in step S29, an increment as added for the personwho prefers thorough washing. When the result is No, then in step S28,an increment as added for the person who prefers immediate washing. Instep S30, a determination is made regarding whether or not theregistered information for the user gives a home address that is anapartment building. In the affirmative case, then in step S31, anincrement is added to the priority of the advice recommending the use ofa night course for the person living in an apartment building.

In step S32, a determination is made regarding whether the externalinformation or the auto-log indicates a frequency that is daily or twoto three times per week. In the affirmative case, then in step S33, anincrement is added for a person wanting to finish laundry immediately.In the negative case, this step is skipped. FIG. 22 depicts a flowchartindicating the priority attachment process for the advice to automatewashing and drying. In step S34, a determination is made regardingwhether or not this is a high-pollen period, and whether the externalinformation indicates a pollen allergy. In the affirmative case, then instep S35, an increment is added to the priority of the advice toautomate washing and drying for the person who does not want to drylaundry outdoors.

In step S36, a determination is made regarding whether or notelectricity consumption is below average for people under equivalentconditions. In the affirmative case, then in step S37, an increment isadded to the priority of the advice to automate washing and drying forthe user who is concerned with the electricity bill. In step S38, adetermination is made regarding whether there is an absence of usagehistory for a drying function. In the affirmative case, then in stepS39, an increment is added for the ecologically-conscious person.

In step S40, a determination is made regarding whether or not theexternal information indicates a preference to finish laundry quickly.In the affirmative case, then in step S41, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice to automate washing and drying for the user whoprefers to finish laundry quickly. In step S42, a determination is maderegarding whether or not the auto-log indicates a usage history of thehome cleaning function. In the affirmative case, then in step S43, anincrement is added to the priority of the advice to automate washing anddrying for the user who does not know about that function.

In step S44, a determination is made regarding whether or not the regionwhere the user lives will have nice weather the next day. In thenegative case, then in step S45, an increment is added to the priorityof the advice to automate washing and drying when the weather will bebad. In the affirmative case, then in step S46, an increment is added tothe priority of the advice to automate washing and drying when theweather will be nice. In step S47, a determination is made regardingwhether or not the external information indicates a working person(active at night). In the affirmative case, then in step S48, anincrement is added for the user who is working (and is active at night).In the negative case, step S49 is skipped.

In step S49, a determination is made regarding whether or not the loginformation for the laundry machine 31 indicates a usage history atnight. In the affirmative case, then in step S50, an increment is addedfor the user who does laundry at night. In the negative case, step S50is skipped. In step S51, a determination is made regarding whether ornot the external information indicates a sloppy person. When such anindication is found, then in step S52, an increment is added to theadvice to automate washing and drying for that user. When the result ofstep S51 is No, then step S52 is skipped. In step S53, a determinationis made regarding whether the auto-log indicates differences in volumebetween washing and drying. In the affirmative case, then in step S54,an increment is added to the advice to automate washing and drying forthe user who prefers to separate washing and drying. When the result ofstep S53 is No, then step S53 is skipped.

FIG. 23 depicts a flowchart indicating priority attachment for theadvice to use jet drying. In step S56, a determination is made regardingwhether or not the auto-log indicates a usage history at night. In theaffirmative case, then in step S57, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice to use jet drying for the working user. In thenegative case, step S57 is skipped.

In step S61, a determination is made regarding whether or not theoverall user information indicates a person who does not own or does notuse an iron, a person living alone, a person in a dormitory, or a personworking away from home. In the affirmative case, then in step S62, anincrement is added to the priority of the advice to use jet drying forthis user. In the negative case, step S62 is skipped. In step S63, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the volume of a singlelaundry load and the frequency of laundry are equal to or greater than athreshold. In the affirmative case, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice to use jet drying for the user with a largefamily. In the negative case, then in step S65, the increment is addedto the priority for the person living alone, in a dormitory, or workingaway from home.

In step S68, a determination is made regarding whether or not the otherdevice logs indicate energy-saving mode settings. In the affirmativecase, then in step S69, an increment is added to the priority of theadvice to use jet drying for the person concerned with the electricitybill and the person who is highly ecologically conscious. In thenegative case, step S69 is skipped. FIG. 24 depicts a flowchart of thepriority attachment processing for the advice making a notification ofweather forecast and pollen information. In step S81, a determination ismade regarding whether or not the auto-log indicates that washing isused but drying is not, and whether the detergent used is appropriatefor outdoor drying. In the affirmative case, then in step S82, anincrement is added to the priority for the advice making a notificationof weather forecast and pollen information for a person who drieslaundry outdoors. In the negative case, step S82 is skipped. In stepS83, a determination is made regarding whether the other device logsindicate a usage history for an air purifier. In the affirmative case,then in step S84, an increment is added to the priority for the advicemaking a notification of weather forecast and pollen information for aperson with a pollen allergy. In the negative case, step S84 is skipped.In step S85, a determination is made regarding whether the amount ofdetergent used is appropriate to indoor drying. In the affirmative case,then in step S86, an increment is added to the priority for the advicemaking a notification of weather forecast of pollen information for aperson who dries laundry indoors. In the negative case, step S86 isskipped. In step S87, a determination is made regarding whether or notthe log information for an air conditioner serving as the other devicelog indicates a usage history of a laundry drying mode or of adehumidifying mode. In the negative case, then in step S88, an incrementis added to the priority of the advice making a notification of weatherforecast and pollen information for the person who uses automaticwashing and drying.

FIG. 25 depicts a flowchart of the processing for attaching priority tothe advice to clean the filter. In step S71, a determination is maderegarding whether or not there is a history of filter obstructionsoccurring three or more times in succession. In the affirmative case,then in step S72, an increment is added to the priority of the advice toclean the filter for the person who does not know about cleaning thefilter, and for the person who does not know that the filter needscleaning.

In step S73, a determination is made regarding whether or not a courseselection in the auto-log indicates automatic drying or drying only. Inthe affirmative case, then in step S74, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice to clean the filter for the person who uses thedrying function. In the negative case, then in step S75, an increment isadded to the priority of the advice to clean the filter for the personwho does not use the drying function.

In step S76, a determination is made regarding whether or not theregistered information for the user indicates cleaning the filter. Inthe affirmative case, then in step S77, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice to clean the filter for the person who cleans thefilter. When the result of step S76 is No, then step S77 is skipped. Instep S78, a determination is made regarding whether the auto-logindicates no usage history for the drying function. In the affirmativecase, then in step S79, an increment is added to the priority of theadvice to clean the filter for the person who does not use the dryingfunction. When the result of step S78 is No, then step S79 is skipped.

FIG. 26 depicts a flowchart of the processing for attaching priority tothe advice on detergent amount. In step S91, a determination is maderegarding whether or not the auto-log indicates that de-sudsing has beenused three or more times consecutively. In step S92, a determination ismade regarding whether or not the amount of detergent is equal to orgreater than a threshold. When the result of either one of steps S91 andS92 is Yes, then in step S93, an increment is added to the priority ofthe advice on detergent amount for the person who uses too muchdetergent. When the result of both step S91 and S92 is No, then step S93is skipped. In step S94, a determination is made regarding whether ornot the auto-log indicates a usage history of washing fancy clothing. Inthe affirmative case, then in step S95, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice on detergent amount for the person concerned withdarkening. In the negative case, step S95 is skipped. In step S96, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the registeredinformation for the user indicates a change in registered detergent. Inthe affirmative case, then in step S97, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice on detergent amount for the person who haschanged detergents. In the negative case, step S98 is skipped. In stepS98, a determination is made regarding whether or not the auto-logindicates a usage history entirely within the past week. In theaffirmative case, then in step S99, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice on detergent amount for the person using laundrymachine for the first time. In the negative case, step S99 is skipped.

FIG. 27 depicts a flowchart indicating the processing for priorityattachment for the advice on extensive drying time. In step S171, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the auto-log includes ahistory of the drying function being used three or more timesconsecutively. In the affirmative case, then in step S172, an incrementis added to the priority of the advice on extensive drying time for theuser who performs drying. In step S173, a determination is maderegarding whether or not the drying time in the auto-log exceeds athreshold. In the affirmative case, then in step S174, an increment isadded to the priority of the advice on extensive drying time for theuser who performs extensive drying.

FIG. 28 depicts a flowchart indicating the details of priorityattachment for advice recommending a frequently used course. In stepS101, a determination is made regarding whether the registeredinformation for the user indicates a typical of age for entering theworkforce or becoming a student. In the affirmative case, then in stepS102, an increment is added to the priority of the advice recommending afrequently-used course for the user concerned with others. In thenegative case, step S102 is skipped.

In step S103, a determination is made regarding whether or not the usersubscribes to a mailing list. In the affirmative case, then in stepS104, an increment is added to the priority of the advice recommending afrequently-used course for the user lacking confidence in their ownlaundry. In the negative case, step S104 is skipped. In step S105, adetermination is made regarding whether a number of friends, posts, pageviews, comments, and so on in the social media information are equal toor greater than a predetermined threshold. In the affirmative case, thenin step S106, an increment is added to the priority of the advicerecommending a frequently-used course for the user loosely connectedwith others. In step S107, a determination is made regarding whether ornot the other device logs indicate a usage history of many differentmenus. In the affirmative case, then in step S108, an increment is addedto the priority of the advice recommending a frequently-used course forthe user wanting to do laundry more efficiently and the user seekingself-improvement. In the negative case, step S108 is skipped.

FIG. 29 depicts a flowchart indicating the details of priorityattachment for advice recommending a detergent ranking. In step S11, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the registeredinformation for the user indicates a change in registered detergentwithin the past month. In the affirmative case, then in step S112, anincrement is added to the advice recommending a detergent ranking forthe person who frequently changes detergents. In step S113, adetermination is made regarding whether or not rinsing is performed inone-hour units. In the affirmative case, then in step S114, an incrementis added to the priority for the detergent ranking for the persondissatisfied with their current detergent. In the negative case, stepS114 is skipped. In step S115, a determination is made regarding whetheror not the registered information or the external information for theuser indicate a person concerned with others or a person working for adetergent manufacturer. In the affirmative case, then in step S116, anincrement is added to the priority of the detergent ranking for theperson concerned with others and the person working for a detergentmanufacturer. In the negative case, step S116 is skipped.

FIG. 30 depicts a flowchart indicating details of advice recommendingtank washing. In step S121, a determination is made regarding whether ornot the auto-log indicates a usage history of tank washing. In theaffirmative case, then in step S122, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice recommending tank washing for the user who doesnot wash the tank. In the negative case, step S122 is skipped. In stepS123, a determination is made regarding whether or not the auto-logindicates tank washing five times or more within a predetermined period.In the affirmative case, then in step S124, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice recommending tank washing for the user whofrequently performs tank washing. In the negative case, then in stepS125, an increment is added to the priority of the advice recommendingtank washing for the person who rarely performs tank washing.

FIG. 31 depicts a flowchart indicating the details of priorityattachment for advice on automated cooking menus. In step S219, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the external informationsuggests wanting such a function but not being aware of it. In theaffirmative case, then in step S130, an increment is added to thepriority for the person who wants but does not know about the function.In the negative case, step S130 is skipped. In step S131, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the auto-log indicatesmicrowave setting times that exceed a threshold. In the affirmativecase, then in step S132, an increment is added to the priority of theadvice on automated cooking menus for the person performing similarcooking. In the negative case, step S132 is skipped. In step S133, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the auto-log indicates ausage history for three or more functions. In the affirmative case, thenin step S134, an increment is added to the priority of the advice onautomated cooking menus for the person who wants but does not know thefunction and for the person performing similar cooking. In the negativecase, step S134 is skipped.

FIG. 32 depicts a flowchart of the processing for attaching priority toadvice on maintenance. In step S14, a determination is made regardingwhether or not the auto-log indicates a usage history for a fish cookingmode. In the affirmative case, then in step S142, an increment as addedto the priority of advice on maintenance for the person cooking foodwith strong orders and the person cooking oily food. In step S143, adetermination is made regarding whether the other device logs indicate ausage history for an air purifier. In the affirmative case, then in stepS144, an increment as added to the priority of advice on maintenance forthe person cooking food with strong orders and the person cooking oilyfood. In the negative case, step S114 is skipped.

In step S145, a determination is made regarding whether or not theexternal information indicates that the user does not want to spend timeon maintenance. In the affirmative case, then in step S146, an incrementis added for the person who does not want to spend time on maintenance.In the negative case, step S146 is skipped. In step S147, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the current date in theexternal information indicates that a major cleaning or regular cleaningperiod is approaching. In the affirmative case, then in step S148, anincrement is added to the advice on maintenance for the personapproaching a major cleaning or regular cleaning period. In the negativecase, step S148 is skipped. In step S149, a determination is maderegarding whether or not the usage history indicates that the microwavehas just been used. In the affirmative case, then in step S150, anincrement is added to the priority of the advice on maintenance for theperson who has just used the microwave. In the negative case, step S150is skipped.

In step S153, a determination is made regarding whether or not the usagehistory indicates daily vacuuming. In the affirmative case, then in stepS154, an increment is added for the person who performs daily vacuuming.In the negative case, step S154 is skipped. FIG. 33 depicts a flowchartindicating the processing for the advice presenting a menu or a cookingclass. In step S181, a determination is made regarding whether or notthe registered information for the user indicates that the user is ahomemaker, whether or not the other device logs indicate a history ofoperating devices during the day, and a history of recording cookingclasses. In the affirmative case, then in step S182, an increment isadded to the priority of the advice presenting a menu or cooking classfor the user who is a homemaker. In the negative case, step S182 isskipped. In step S183, a determination is made regarding whether or notthe auto-log indicates a usage history for a warming mode. In thenegative case, then in step S184, an increment is added to the priorityof the advice presenting a menu or cooking class for the user who facesdifficulty in daily meal planning. In the affirmative case, then in stepS185, an increment is added to the priority of the advice presenting amenu or cooking class for the user who only cooks by warming things up.

FIG. 35 depicts a flowchart indicating details of advice recommendingoperations performed manually and with the microwave. In step S186, adetermination is made regarding whether or not the other device logsindicate a history of recording foodie-oriented programs. In theaffirmative case, then in step S187, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice recommending operations performed manually andwith the microwave for the person who is a foodie and the personsensitive to taste differences. In the negative case, step S187 isskipped.

In step S188, a determination is made regarding whether or not theexternal information indicates that the user does not notice tastedifferences. In the affirmative case, then in step S189, an increment isadded to the priority of the advice recommending operations performedmanually and with the microwave for the person who is not sensitive totaste differences. In step S190, a determination is made regardingwhether or not the registered information for the user indicates ahistory of recording child-oriented programs. In the affirmative case,then in step S191, an increment is added to the priority of the advicerecommending operations performed manually and with the microwave forthe person who prefers simple cooking. In the negative case, step S159is skipped.

FIG. 35 depicts a flowchart indicating details of advice on a keep-warmfunction. In step S201, a determination is made regarding whether or notthe auto-log indicates using the keep-warm function for 10 minutes orlonger. In the affirmative case, then in step S202, an increment isadded to the priority of the advice on the keep-warm function for theuser who uses the keep-warm function for long periods. In theaffirmative case, then instep S203, an increment is added to thepriority of the advice on the keep-warm function for the user who usesthe keep-warm function for short periods.

According to the above-described Embodiment, advice is provided to theuser through the terminal 103 in an environment that includes varioushousehold appliances such as the laundry machine 31 and the cookingdevice 32 to indicate which device to use in what manner. As such, thevarious household appliances are fully utilized without leaving anyfunctions unused.

Embodiment 2

The present Embodiment clarifies the network configuration between thedevice group, the service provision center, and the serviceadministration center discussed in Embodiment 1.

FIG. 36 depicts the network configuration of the information provisionsystem. As illustrated, the network configuration of the informationprovision system includes a private customer network 100 a, a serviceprovider network 110 a, and a service provider 120 a.

The private customer network 100 a is an internal network configuredfrom the household appliances that are the subject of the loginformation and the terminal for advice browsing. FIG. 36 depicts thelaundry machine 31, the cooking device 32 and the terminal 103.

The service provider network 110 a is the network in the dataadministration center described in Embodiment 1, running on integratedElastic Cloud Computing (iEC2) architecture or similar, and being avirtual local area network (hereinafter, VLAN) treated as integral tothe service provider network in the data administration center. Theservice provider network 110 a is configured from one or more cloudservers 111, a switch group 112 for connecting among the cloud servers,a directory server 113 managing instances on the cloud servers andswitches connecting to the cloud servers in association with a paired IPaddress and MAC address for a requesting node and a destination node,and a logical customer edge 114 serving as a requesting node in thecloud network (i.e., as the requester for the private customer network).

The service provider network 120 a is a network at the service provisioncenter serving as the point of contact for the user. Specifically, theservice provider network 120 a is an intranet at the service operator,who is a household appliance manufacturer or related service provider,and includes a product information server 121 a storing productinformation for the household appliances and supplying the productinformation in response to a request from the terminal, a loginformation server 121 b accumulating log information collected from theprivate customer network and supplying the log information in responseto a request from the terminal, a user registration server 121 cperforming user registration for a user receiving remote service andsupplying the registered information obtained from the userregistration, and an application provision server (hereinafter, APS) 121d supplying an application to the cloud network. The product informationserver 121 a corresponds to the product data storage 41 of FIG. 7, andthe log information server 121 b corresponds to the remote supportstorage 42 of FIG. 7. The user registration server 121 c manages theregistered user information within the network, as part of the overalluser information.

The cloud server 111 receives the log information and productinformation supplied from the log information server and the productmanual server in the service provider network, receives websiteinformation, blog information, social media information, andappliance-related external information from a web server of an externalnetwork 130 a, and supplies the product information and theappliance-related external information to the terminal as one or morepieces of advice.

When a given user logs in, a hypervisor of the cloud server generates aninstance of guest operating system (hereinafter, guest OS) correspondingto the logged-in user. As such, the generation of advice objects forthat logged-in user, the priority attachment in response to usageconditions and the like for the household appliances of that logged-inuser, and the screen construction for that logged-in user are performedusing the functions of the guest OS instance. In such cases, the adviceobject manager 44, the priority attacher 45, and the screen creator 46are configured as applications running on the guest OS instance.

FIG. 37 depicts the internal configuration of the guest OS instancerunning on the cloud server 111 and the application loaded by the guestOS instance.

The guest OS instance 202 monitors for operations made on a GUI and aninstance of a graphics rendering engine 211 rendering the GUI menus andwindows and so on in response to an API call from the application. Whensuch an operation is made, the guest OS instance 202 makes an instanceof an event manager 212 that outputs an event indicating the operation,an instance of a file system 213 for acquiring various files from anetwork drive or a local drive, an instance of a kernel 214 performingapplication status management, an instance of a protocol stack 215executing various protocols for server connection, and an instance of adevice driver 216. In the cloud network configured as described above,library program functions taking on the load of middle-ware processingare supplied by the cloud server and not by the terminal 103.

The application 201 includes the advice object manager 44, the priorityattacher 45, and the screen creator 46 described in Embodiment, andperforms the following functions via the guest OS instance. Theoperations performed through the guest OS instance include the adviceobject manager 44 generating the advice objects and the priorityattacher 45 modifying priority as per the rules described in Embodiment1 and attaching priority to the advice objects. The screen creator 46performs screen creation using the advice objects sorted according topriority to obtain an interactive screen, and supplies the interactivescreen to the terminal 103 through the graphics rendering engine 211 andthe event manager 215 of the guest OS instance.

FIGS. 38A through 38C depicts the basic transmission sequence betweenthe cloud server 111 and the terminal 103. In FIG. 38A, the householdappliance 101 makes a network connection (S501), transmits the loginformation to the cloud server 111, and the cloud server 111 performsprocesses 1 through 3 as a group. Here, process 1 (step S503), process 2(step S504), and process 3 (step S505) are abstracted out as threeprocess among the flowcharts of FIGS. 19 through 35. Specifically,process 1 is the search for advice using a product code from steps 3 and4 in the main flowchart of FIG. 19, process 2 is the priority attachmenton the pieces of advice from step S6 (including subroutines from FIGS.20 through 35), and process 3 is the advice display of steps S7 throughS12.

Process 1 through 3 result in command transmission (step S506). Theterminal 103 performs display in response to the transmitted command(step S507). FIG. 38B depicts a variation of FIG. 38A, differing in thatprocess 1 through 3 are executed by the terminal 103 rather than thecloud server 111. FIG. 38C depicts a variation of FIG. 38A, differing inthat process 2 and 3 are executed by the terminal 103 rather than thecloud server 111.

FIGS. 39 through 42 depict four types of cloud services provided by thecloud server.

FIGS. 39 through 42 have the following three points in common. First,the application 201 and the guest OS 202 are running on the data center203. Second, the log information is transmitted from the device group100 to the date center 203 (including the cloud server 111) as indicatedby arrow 204. Third, the data center 203 supplies advice to the terminal103 as indicated by arrow 205.

(Service Type 1: Local Data Center)

FIG. 39 depicts service type 1 (a local data center). Here, the serviceprovision center 120 acquires information from the device group 100 andsupplies a service to the user. The service provision center 120 servesas the data center operator. That is, the service provider includes thecloud server 111 performing big data management. As such, there is nodata center operator.

Here, the data center 203 of the service provision center 120 performsdata center (cloud server 111) administration and management. Theservice provision center 120 also manages the guest OS 202 and theapplication 201. The service provision center 120 runs the serviceprovider 204 using the guest OS 202 and the application 201 managed bythe service provision center 120.

(Service Type 2: IaaS)

FIG. 40 depicts service type 2 (Infrastructure as a Service, hereinafterIaaS). Here, IaaS is a model in which infrastructure for constructingand operating a computer system is supplied as a cloud service throughthe Internet. The data center operator administers and manages the datacenter 203 (corresponding to the cloud server 111). The serviceprovision center 120 also manages the guest OS 202 and the application201. The service provision center 120 runs the service provider 204using the guest OS 202 and the application 201 managed by the serviceprovision center 120.

(Service Type 3: PaaS)

FIG. 41 depicts service type 3 (Platform as a Service, hereinafterPaaS). Here, PaaS is a model in which a platform for constructing andoperating a computer system is supplied as a cloud service through theInternet.

Here, the data administration center 110 manages the guest OS 202, andthe data center 203 (corresponding to the cloud server 111) performsadministration and management. The service provision center 120 alsomanages the application 201. The service provision center 120 runs theservice provider 204 using the guest OS 202 managed by the data centeroperator and the application 201 managed by the service provision center120.

(Service Type 4: SaaS)

FIG. 42 depicts service type 4 (Software as a Service, hereinafterSaaS). In this model, for example, an application provided by a platformprovider having a data center (i.e., a cloud server) is supplied to abusiness or person (i.e., a user) who does not have a data center (i.e.,cloud server) as a cloud service using a network such as the Internet.

Here, the data administration center 110 manages the application 201 andthe guest OS 202, and the data center 203 (corresponding to the cloudserver 111) performs administration and management. The serviceprovision center 120 also runs the service provider 204 using the guestOS 202 and the application 201 managed by the managed by the data centeroperator 110. The main actor in service provision is the serviceprovision center 120 in all of the above service types. For example, theservice provider or the data center operator may also develop their ownOS, application, or big data center, or may order any of these from athird party.

Embodiment 3

The present Embodiment provides an improvement to display of the adviceobjects in association with the respective household appliances.Specifically, this involves displaying an image of the room in which thehousehold appliances are located, and compositing a highest-priorityadvice object with each of the household appliances in the room image.The room image is a perspective view or a bird's-eye view of the roomcomposited with drawings of the household appliances. The householdappliance image is image data in a format such as TIFF, JPEG, or PNG.

Upon user registration, the screen creator 46 displays a selectionscreen and queries the user for a room type in which the householdappliances are located (e.g., kitchen, living room, washroom, bathroom,bedroom, drawing room). Once the room type is determined, a room imagefor that type of room is displayed a background image, composited withhousehold appliance drawings corresponding to the household appliancesowned by the user. As such, a room layout is created with the householdappliance drawings composited therein. Afterward, the householdappliance drawing having the highest priority advice object iscomposited.

An advice object to be viewed by the logged-in user is displayed inassociation with the household appliance disposed in the room on aninteractive screen. Thus, the user quickly understands what to do bylooking at the advice objects and is easily able to directly handle theadvice objects.

FIG. 43 illustrates an example of a screen on the terminal 103 where theroom image serves as background image for the user when a plurality ofadvice objects are displayed. Here, the room image is composited withhousehold appliance drawings at predetermined positions, with advicearranged around the household appliance drawings. In FIG. 43,abbreviated display om1, om2, and om3 each represent abbreviated displayof one of three pieces of advice for the laundry machine described inFIG. 15, abbreviated display om4 and om5 each represent one of twopieces of advice described in FIG. 17B, and abbreviated display om6represents a piece of advice described in FIG. 17B.

Various fixtures, pieces of furniture, and household appliances to beincluded in the room image may be created using three-dimensional modeldata. The screen creator 45 performs a sequence or rendering operationssuch as coordinate conversion, shading calculation, texture mapping, andviewpoint conversion on the three-dimensional model data to definethree-dimensional fixtures, pieces of furniture, and householdappliances, making the three-dimensional models visible. Accordingly,advice objects are displayed around the household appliances among thevisible fixtures, pieces of furniture, and household appliances in thethree-dimensional model. As such, the advice to be referenced by theuser is displayed in a game-like format.

According to the above-described Embodiment, the advice objects aredisplayed in a format of association with household appliance drawingsappearing in a room image, thus providing direct, viewer-friendly,easy-to-understand advice.

Embodiment 4

The present Embodiment pertains to improvements applied when the remotesupport storage 42 described in FIG. 7 for storing the log informationis realized as part of a big data storage system. The scale ofinformation in auto-log and other device logs generated by the householdappliances used by an unspecified large number of users may be on theorder of several megabytes to gigabytes per second, requiring a largestorage capacity on that level. A big data storage system isbeneficially provided at the data provision center to store such data inreal time. The big data storage system is a network system that includesa plurality of node devices and a name server, as well as a distributedfile system, key value storage, and a work load grid.

The distributed file system divides the log information (includingauto-logs and other device logs) input thereto by the devices serving asconstituent units of the big data into N pieces, and applies aconversion to obtain N pieces of converted results. The N pieces ofconverted results are then respectively stored on N node device torealize parallel storage. In this type of storage, the address of eachnode device storing converted results is registered in the name server.

The key value storage is a database system using metadata to manage theconverted results obtained by division and conversion. The dividedpieces obtained by dividing the log information (log information 1/N)are converted by applying map, shuffle/sort, and reduce operations. Themap operation involves further dividing each of log information 1/N intodetailed codewords. The shuffle/sort operation involves handling a bitvalue contained in each codeword as a value and attaching a key to eachcodeword, the key being metadata characterizing the codeword. Then, asort operation of sorting the values according to the keys and a shuffleoperation of synthesizing the values on a random node device areperformed. The reduce operation involves collecting values among theplurality of values generated from the log information 1/N havingsimilar characteristics indicated by the keys into one, to obtain Ncollected values corresponding to the N pieces of log information 1/N.The metadata serving as the keys may be a usage start time, a continuousduration or a usage end time, usage contents, troubleshooting code, oran error code, as discussed in Embodiment 1. The sort, shuffle, andreduce operations are performed in accordance with the metadata, suchthat the pieces of log information in various formats are all stored inthe log information format discussed in Embodiment 1 and divided intothe key value storage.

The work load grid allocates a task on the node device to each piece oflog information 1/N and obtains collected values by causing the map,shuffle/sort, and reduce operations to be executed as the tasks. The bigdata storage system manages the log information as key value storagedatabase, thus making the scale of the big data expandable for furtherstorage. Also, converting the N pieces of log information 1/N intocollected values enables search response times to be guaranteed within apredetermined time.

Hadoop on Google may be used as a framework integrating the distributedfile system, the key value storage, and the work load grid. The map,shuffle, and reduce operations are grouped and termed MapReduce. Jubatus(™) is also available as an analysis framework enabling the MapReduceoperation to be performed recursively. Jubatus (™) treats a nodeperforming the map operation as a client node, and has a server nodetermed JukaKeeper provide map and shuffle operations to that clientnode. Once the client node sends a job such as morphological analysis toJubaKeeper, JubaKeeper performs the map and shuffle operations and anode in charge of reduce operations transfers a collection of values toJubaKeeper as processing results. Jubatus (™) enables recursivemorphological analysis by mixing the collected values that result fromthe reduce operation.

The big data storage method is not limited to key value storage. WhenNoSQL is used, any of an associative array, a structural array, anin-memory database (i.e., forming a database by storing data in memory),and stream data processing may be used. Stream data processing involvesprocessing the data as-is without storage, when the data is produced incompound event processing.

According to the above-described Embodiment, large-scale log informationis usable as the basis for attaching priority to the advice, thus makingthe advice provided to the logged-in user more closely applicable.

(Variations)

The following variations to Embodiments 1, 2, and 3 are also applicable.

(Increments Allocated to High-Priority and Low-Priority Users)

The allocation of increments to high-priority and low-priority usersdepends on the judgment of the advice provider. The increment allocatedto a high-priority user may be computed by adding a predetermined valueor applying a predetermined coefficient to the increment allocated to alow-priority user. Also, a difference may be applied such that theincrement allocated to a high-priority user may be positive while theincrement allocated to a low-priority user is negative.

(Priority Attachment Simplification)

In FIGS. 15, 16A, 16B, 17A, and 17B, the increments allocated to ahigh-priority user may be uniformly +1 while the increments allocated toa low-priority user may be uniformly −1. As such, descriptionspertaining to the profile of a high-priority person or of a low-priorityperson may be prioritized by the number of hits when searching theauto-log, the other device logs, and the overall user information. Also,the description of profile characteristics may be satisfied by any ofthe auto-log, the other device logs, and the overall user informationand the priority change may determined may be determined solely by theweighting of the auto-log, the other device logs, and the overall userinformation.

(Application to Prohibitions)

A large value (e.g., 1000) may be applied as an initial priority, andwhen a prohibition such as never looking at the advice is applicable tothe usage conditions of the household appliance or to the usercircumstances, that priority may be decreased.

(Network Configuration)

The private network, the service provider network, and the cloud networkdescribed in Embodiment 2 are beneficially configured as packet exchangenetworks. The cloud network is beneficially configured as a virtualstank identifiable by a common VLAN tag in a virtual private network(hereinafter, VPN) configured using a layer 3 protocol of multiprotocollabel switching (hereinafter, MLPS) or similar. A network node servingas a router or switch in the private customer network is beneficiallyable to communicate with devices both inside and outside the privatenetwork 101 using functions of layer 3 communication using MPLS(hereinafter, L3MLPS) and layer 2 communication using Ethernet (™) and avirtual private LAN service (hereinafter, VPLS), and so on using aplurality of layers in an OSI reference model.

(Adding Autoscaler and Load Distribution Device)

The cloud server of Embodiment 2 is beneficially equipped with anautoscaler. An autoscaler performs performance monitoring, scalingmanagement, and instance management. Performance monitoring involvescollecting performance data from a sequence of guest OS instances,calculating system performance based on performance metrics that arecalculated according to the collected performance data, and generatingmetrics indicating an average number of requests completed per second,response times, and so on. Furthermore, the cloud network of Embodiment2 is beneficially equipped with a load distribution device. The loaddistribution device is connected to a sequence of guest OS instancesthrough a secure plain connection in the data link layer, anddistributes the work among internal servers and/or guest OS instances.The distribution is, for example, based on a weighted round robin, aminimum connection, or fastest processing. In Embodiment 2, the auto-logand other device logs are managed daily and cumulatively for a pluralityof products in a variety of shops, producing an enormous amount of data.However, the above-described autoscaler and load distribution devicechange the number of generated guest OS instances in accordance with arequest from the screen creator 46. Thus, an information provisionrequest from the screen creator 46 receives a quick response even whenthe usage history for the household appliance accumulated daily in avariety of shops reaches an extremely large volume.

(Screen Image Variations)

The screen images depicted in FIGS. 5, 6A-6D, 10A, 10B, 11A-11E,12A-12C, 13A-13D, 14A, and 14B are merely examples of the GUI configuredfrom a combination of various widgets. The screen images in each of theEmbodiments may be any images accomplishing the goal of promoting salesof products in a shop. Specifically, the screen created by the screencreator 46 is widely construed to encompass the GUI constructedaccording to the following.

When a selection pertaining to some sort of advice object is expected,the screen creator 46 uses an interactive screen configuration made ofwidgets such as a toggle button, a radio button, a list box, a slider, acheck-box, a spin button (or drop-down list), a toolbar, a combo box, anicon, a tree view, and so on.

When displaying an advice object to encourage an operation by the user,an interactive screen is made from widgets such as a tab, a scroll bar,and so on.

When expecting text input from the user in response to a displayedadvice object, an interactive screen is made from widgets such as a textbox, a combo box, and so on.

When providing feedback to the user in response to a user operationwhile displaying a advice object, an interactive screen is made fromwidgets such as a label, a tool tip, a help balloon, a progress bar, aninfo bar, and so on.

When the main data of the advice object is text data in an HTML or XMLformat, display may be performed using an interactive screen is madefrom widgets such as a modal window, a palette window, and so on.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present disclosure encourages use of household appliances, and isthus applicable to the household appliance manufacturing industry.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   101 Device group-   110 Data center administration company-   111 Cloud server

The invention claimed is:
 1. An advice provision method used by a systemproviding a plurality of pieces of advice pertaining to each of aplurality of household appliances on a user terminal, the systemincluding: a data provision center that is configured from a loginformation server, and a product information server; and a dataadministration center that includes a cloud server and a cloud network,the cloud server receives: (1) from the log information server, firsthousehold appliance log information indicating a usage condition of afirst household appliance among the household appliances and secondhousehold appliance log information indicating a usage condition of asecond household appliance among the household appliances, the secondhousehold appliance being different in terms of model from the firsthousehold appliance; and (2) product information of the first householdappliance from the product information server, the product informationreceived from the product information server includes a plurality ofpieces of advice pertaining to the first household appliance, withrespect to each of the pieces of advice, an indication is definedregarding a profile of a user with respect to which prioritycorresponding to the piece of advice needs to be changed, and the userterminal includes: a touch sensor circuit; and a display panel that hasa display screen having a first region, the first region includes a listof respective topics of the pieces of advice that are rearrangedaccording to the priority, when any one of the topics is touched, theuser terminal displays in full one of the pieces of advice correspondingto the touched topic, the advice provision method comprising: searching,with respect to each of the pieces of advice, the first householdappliance log information, and the second household appliance loginformation for the indication regarding the profile of the user withrespect to which corresponding priority needs to be changed; performing,with respect to each of the pieces of advice, priority update byincreasing the corresponding priority by a predetermined increment, whenthe searching finds the indication regarding the profile of the user inany of the first household appliance log information, and the secondhousehold appliance log information, and providing the user terminalwith two or more pieces of advice corresponding to a higher priorityamong the pieces of advice as a result of the priority update.
 2. Theadvice provision method of claim 1, further comprising performingpriority calculation with respect to each of the pieces of advice, whenthe indication regarding the profile of the user who needs to refer tothe piece of advice is present in any of the first household appliancelog information and the second household appliance log information, thepriority calculation being performed with respect to each of theindications regarding the profile of the user, by performing a summationoperation taking a sum upon application of a weighting coefficient by anincrement in accordance with the any of the first household appliancelog information and the second household appliance log information, byperforming addition in accordance with a reference count by another userof the piece of advice, and by performing subtraction in accordance witha reference count by the user of the piece of advice.
 3. The adviceprovision method of claim 1, further comprising: comparing the firsthousehold appliance log information and the second household appliancelog information in terms of newness; and weighting the priorityaccording to comparison results, wherein the comparing and the weightingare performed when changing the priority corresponding to each of thepieces of advice according to at least one of the first householdappliance log information and the second household appliance loginformation.
 4. The advice provision method of claim 1, furthercomprising: judging which of the first household appliance loginformation and the second household appliance log information hastriggered a change in the priority; and weighting the priority accordingto a result of the judging, wherein the judging and the weighting areperformed when changing the priority corresponding to each of the piecesof advice according to at least one of the first household appliance loginformation and the second household appliance log information, thepieces of advice each include manual information and appliance-relatedexternal information that is obtainable from an external network via aninformation provision system and needs to be used in relation tohousehold appliance operation.
 5. The advice provision method of claim4, wherein weighting heaviness applied in the weighting is high in theorder of the first household appliance log information and the secondhousehold appliance log information.
 6. The advice provision method ofclaim 1, wherein when displaying each of the pieces of advice, areference count by another user of the pieces of advice pertaining tothe household appliance is acquired, and the priority is changedaccording to the reference count by the other user that is acquired, byweighting the priority of any of the pieces of advice pertaining to thehousehold appliance that have been referenced by the other user.
 7. Theadvice provision method of claim 1, wherein when displaying each of thepieces of advice, a reference count by the user of the pieces of advicepertaining to the household appliance is acquired, and the priority ischanged according to the reference count by the user that is acquired,by lowering the priority of any of the pieces of advice pertaining tothe household appliance that have been referenced by the user.
 8. Theadvice provision method of claim 2, wherein the first householdappliance is a laundry machine, the pieces of advice include arecommendation to select a silent mode and any of a recommendation toautomate washing and drying, a recommendation to use a jet dryingfunction, a recommendation to clean a filter in the laundry machine, arecommendation to suppress excessive use of detergent, a recommendationto use a given detergent, and a recommendation to wash a laundry tank,the profile of the user who needs to refer to the recommendation toselect the silent mode indicates any of: a usage history of the laundrymachine at night; a usage history of an audio-visual device serving asthe second household appliance in a mute mode; and a setting history ofa portable phone serving as the second household appliance in a silentmode, the profile of the user who needs to refer to the recommendationto automate washing and drying indicates any of: a history of using ahouse cleaning mode on the first household appliance; a powerconsumption for the first household appliance or the second householdappliance that is remarkably lower than other users in similarconditions; a usage history on high-pollen days; and a difference involume between washing and drying, the profile of the user who needs torefer to the recommendation to use the jet drying function indicates anyof: a change in an amount of laundry washed and dried per load exceedinga predetermined value, the change being indicated in the first householdappliance log information; the user's work address; a usage history ofan iron serving as the second household appliance; and a time slotduring which laundry is done daily, the profile of the user who needs torefer to the recommendation to clean the filter indicates any of: acount of filter obstructions that is equal to or greater than apredetermined value; and a cumulative laundry time that is equal to orgreater than a predetermined duration, the profile of the user who needsto refer to the recommendation to suppress excessive use of detergentindicates any of: a usage count of a defoamer that is equal to orgreater than a predetermined value; an amount of used detergent that isequal to or greater than a predetermined value; and a change inregistered brand of detergent, the profile of the user who needs torefer to the recommendation to use the given detergent indicates aregistered brand of detergent, and the profile of the user who needs torefer to the recommendation to wash the laundry tank indicates any of:an indication that the laundry tank has not been cleaned; and acumulative time of laundry that exceeds a predetermined time.
 9. Theadvice provision method of claim 2, wherein the first householdappliance is a cooking device, the pieces of advice include arecommendation to perform maintenance on the cooking device and any of arecommendation for an automatically-prepared menu and a recommendationto use process or instructions to which use of the cooking device isapplicable, the profile of the user who needs to refer to therecommendation to perform maintenance on the cooking device indicatesany of: a usage history of frying food; and a usage history of an airpurifier or a vacuum cleaner, the profile of the user who needs to referto the recommendation for the automatically-prepared menu indicates ahistory of cooking time that exceeds a predetermined threshold, and theprofile of the user who needs to refer to the recommendation to use theprocess or instructions to which use of the cooking device is applicableindicates a history of recording foodie-oriented programs on a recordingdevice serving as the second household appliance and a history ofrecording children's programming.
 10. The advice provision method ofclaim 1, wherein the user terminal performs a list display of the piecesof advice, and when displaying each of the pieces of advice, the listdisplay is performed with each of the pieces of advice ordered accordingto the priority corresponding thereto.
 11. The advice provision methodof claim 1, wherein the user terminal performs a cascade display of thepieces of advice, and when displaying each of the pieces of advice, thecascade display is performed with a high-priority piece of advicedisplayed as front-most.
 12. The advice provision method of claim 1,wherein the user terminal performs a cyclical display of the pieces ofadvice, and when displaying each of the pieces of advice: the cyclicaldisplay is performed by selecting one among high-priority pieces ofadvice from the pieces of advice pertaining to the household applianceof the user for display on the user terminal, and one amonghigh-priority pieces of advice from the pieces of advice is re-selectedfor display on the user terminal after a fixed interval.
 13. The adviceprovision method of claim 1, wherein when displaying each of the piecesof advice, a high-priority piece of advice among the pieces of advicepertaining to the household appliance of the user is colored in adifferent display color than other pieces of advice.
 14. The adviceprovision method of claim 1, wherein an audio notification is made tothe user regarding only one among the pieces of advice pertaining to thehousehold appliance of the user judged as having a high priority. 15.The advice provision method of claim 1, wherein the user terminaldisplays one among the pieces of advice pertaining to the householdappliance of the user deemed as having a high priority along with acondition used in judging the high priority.
 16. The advice provisionmethod of claim 1, further comprising: acquiring log information fromthe household appliance of the user; judging, in accordance with the loginformation, whether any of the pieces of advice pertaining to thehousehold appliance of the user have been used by the user; and deletingany of the pieces of advice judged to have been used by the user fromdisplay.
 17. The advice provision method of claim 1, wherein thehousehold appliance of the user is classified into one of a plurality ofcategories, and the user terminal simultaneously displays the pieces ofadvice pertaining to the household appliance of the user that areclassified into the same category.
 18. The advice provision method ofclaim 1, wherein the user terminal displays an icon representing thehousehold appliance of the user, the icon is user-selectable, and theuser terminal displays pieces of advice pertaining to the householdappliance represented by the icon selected by the user, among the piecesof advice pertaining to the household appliance of the user.
 19. Theadvice provision method of claim 1, wherein the display screen furtherhas a second region, and a piece of advice displayed in the first regionand a piece of advice displayed in the second region differ in terms ofdisplay time.
 20. The advice provision method of claim 1, wherein thepieces of advice are each classified as one of support advice fornormally operating a household appliance of the user and recommendedadvice for further usability within a range of normal operations of thehousehold appliance, and when a determination is made that both thesupport advice and the recommended advice need to be displayed as aresult of change of the priority corresponding to each of the pieces ofadvice, a user terminal displays the support advice and the recommendedadvice in different formats.
 21. The advice provision method of claim20, wherein a support advice display time is longer than a recommendedadvice display time.
 22. The advice provision method of claim 20,wherein the user terminal displays the support advice and therecommended advice with different timing.
 23. The advice provisionmethod of claim 20, wherein the user terminal displays the supportadvice in a full-text format and displays the recommended advice in anabbreviated format.
 24. The advice provision method of claim 23, whereinthe recommended advice in the abbreviated format indicates that adviceis available.